Exim 4 before 4.94.2 allows Heap-based Buffer Overflow because it mishandles "-F '.('" on…
Priority LOW 34CWE-787Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Exim 4 before 4.94.2 allows Heap-based Buffer Overflow because it mishandles "-F '.('" on the command line, and thus may allow privilege escalation from any user to root. This occurs because of the interpretation of negative sizes in strncpy.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00393 33rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-28013
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vfqg-p6x8-w5f4
References
More Exim vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-12627 Exim 4.92 through 4.92.2 allows remote code execution, a different vulnerability than… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-07471 OS command injection in exim KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-04965 An issue was discovered in the base64d function in the SMTP listener in Exim before… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2010-04077 Heap-based buffer overflow in the string_vformat function in string.c in Exim before 4.70… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2010-04078 Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2025-19707 SQL injection in Exim CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-28013 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-28013 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vfqg-p6x8-w5f4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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