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CVE-2026-45185: Exim before 4.99.3 - Unauthenticated code execution via malicious email
CVE-2026-45185
Summary
Exim, a popular email server software, has a security flaw that allows an attacker to execute malicious code without needing a password. This can happen if an attacker sends a specific type of email that triggers a bug in Exim's handling of email attachments. To stay safe, update Exim to the latest version as soon as possible.
Original title
Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a...
Original description
Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.
Vulnerability type
CWE-416
Use After Free
- https://code.exim.org/exim/wiki/wiki/EximSecurity
- https://exim.org
- https://exim.org/static/doc/security/CVE-2026-45185.txt
- https://exim.org/static/doc/security/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1/
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111748
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/12/4
- https://xbow.com/blog/dead-letter-cve-2026-45185-xbow-found-rce-exim
Published: 12 May 2026 · Updated: 30 May 2026 · First seen: 12 May 2026