Improper certificate validation in dovecot
Priority LOW 38CWE-295Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Spoofing
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-295.
Summary
It was discovered that Dovecot before versions 2.2.36.1 and 2.3.4.1 incorrectly handled client certificates. A remote attacker in possession of a valid certificate with an empty username field could possibly use this issue to impersonate other users.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.02417 84th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Partial Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 6 fixed, 2 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dovecot Project | dovecot | 2.2.36.1; 2.3.4.1 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- dovecot VendorThe Dovecot Project Affected 2.2.36.1; 2.3.4.1 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:dovecot:dovecot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 1.1.0 to before 2.2.36.1; 2.3.0 to before 2.3.4.1 | Vulnerable | The Dovecot Project |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 12.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 14.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 16.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 18.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 18.10 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 42.3 | Vulnerable | openSUSE |
- cpe:2.3:a:dovecot:dovecot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.1.0 to before 2.2.36.1; 2.3.0 to before 2.3.4.1 Vulnerable ·The Dovecot Project
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 12.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 14.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 18.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 18.10 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 42.3 Vulnerable ·openSUSE
Remediation
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2020:1062 Released 2020-03-31 · Red Hat rating Moderatedovecot security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) dovecot-1:2.2.36-6.el7, dovecot-1:2.2.36-6.el7.ppc, dovecot-mysql-1:2.2.36-6.el7 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) dovecot-devel-1:2.2.36-6.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) dovecot-1:2.2.36-6.el7, dovecot-mysql-1:2.2.36-6.el7, dovecot-pgsql-1:2.2.36-6.el7 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) dovecot-devel-1:2.2.36-6.el7
- RHSA-2019:3467 Released 2019-11-05 · Red Hat rating Moderatedovecot security and bug fix update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) dovecot-1:2.2.36-10.el8, dovecot-devel-1:2.2.36-10.el8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) dovecot-1:2.2.36-10.el8, dovecot-mysql-1:2.2.36-10.el8, dovecot-pgsql-1:2.2.36-10.el8 +1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2019:3467 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2019:3467 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1062 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1062 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1062 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1062 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2019-3814
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2727-qgh5-485g
References
More The Dovecot Project Dovecot vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-08591 In Dovecot before 2.2.36.4 and 2.3.x before 2.3.7.2 (and Pigeonhole before 0.5.7.2)… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-05686 lib-smtp in submission-login and lmtp in Dovecot 2.3.9 before 2.3.9.3 mishandles… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2016-07114 The auth component in Dovecot before 2.2.27, when auth-policy is configured, allows a… CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 5.9
- TI-2017-10567 Out-of-bounds read in Dovecot CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.1
- TI-2022-12706 An issue was discovered in the auth component in Dovecot 2.2 and 2.3 before 2.3.20. CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2020-08835 In Dovecot before 2.3.10.1, unauthenticated sending of malformed parameters to a NOOP… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2019-3814 · CVE Program
- CVE-2019-3814 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2727-qgh5-485g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2019-3814 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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