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TI-2020-01855 Aliases CVE-2020-1931GHSA-p22p-qh9c-7725

OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassin

Priority MEDIUM 45CWE-78Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Impact type
Code execution
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 3 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-78.

Summary

A command execution issue was found in Apache SpamAssassin prior to 3.4.3. Carefully crafted nefarious Configuration (.cf) files can be configured to run system commands similar to CVE-2018-11805. This issue is less stealthy and attempts to exploit the issue will throw warnings. Thanks to Damian Lukowski at credativ for reporting the issue ethically. With this bug unpatched, exploits can be injected in a number of scenarios though doing so remotely is difficult. In addition to upgrading to SA 3.4.4, we again recommend that users should only use update channels or 3rd party .cf files from trusted places.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.06464 93rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Apache SpamAssassin (Apache Software Foundation): 3.4.3Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 1 fixed, 3 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
ApacheApache SpamAssassinbefore 3.4.33.4.3Patch availableCNA
  • Apache SpamAssassin VendorApache Affected before 3.4.3 Fixed in 3.4.3 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:apache:spamassassin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 3.4.3VulnerableApache
  • cpe:2.3:a:apache:spamassassin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 3.4.3 Vulnerable ·Apache

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Apache SpamAssassin (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 3.4.3

Red Hat 1 advisory

  • RHSA-2020:4625 Released 2020-11-04 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    spamassassin security update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) spamassassin-3.4.2-10.el8

Fixed in the same release

Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.

  • Advisory ·

    Apache SpamAssassin — FEDORA-2020-24dac7d890

    2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassinPriority MEDIUM 45
    Show all 2 records → Advisory →
  • Advisory ·

    Apache SpamAssassin — FEDORA-2020-bd20036cdc

    2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassinPriority MEDIUM 45
    Show all 2 records → Advisory →
Show 3 more groups
  • Advisory ·

    Apache SpamAssassin — USN-4265-1

    2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassinPriority MEDIUM 45
    Show all 2 records → Advisory →
  • Advisory ·

    Apache SpamAssassin — USN-4265-2

    2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassinPriority MEDIUM 45
    Show all 2 records → Advisory →
  • Advisory ·

    Apache SpamAssassin — DSA-4615

    2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassinPriority MEDIUM 45
    Show all 2 records → Advisory →

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix planned: Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2020:4625

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-1931
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p22p-qh9c-7725

References

Advisory 6

Other 3

  • TI-2006-02383 SpamAssassin before 3.1.3, when running with vpopmail and the paranoid (-P) switch… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 5.1
  • TI-2018-08437 A potential Remote Code Execution bug exists with the PDFInfo plugin in Apache SpamAssassin before 3.4.2. CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2020-01870 Apache SpamAssassin has an OS Command Injection vulnerability CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2020-01854 OS command injection in Apache SpamAssassin CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
  • TI-2019-09265 Uncontrolled resource consumption in Apache SpamAssassin CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2018-08438 Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.2 fixes a local user code injection in the meta rule syntax. CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
See all 12 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences