KDE Messagelib through 5.17.0 reveals cleartext of encrypted messages in some situations.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-312.
Summary
KDE Messagelib through 5.17.0 reveals cleartext of encrypted messages in some situations. Deleting an attachment of a decrypted encrypted message stored on a remote server (e.g., an IMAP server) causes KMail to upload the decrypted content of the message to the remote server. With a crafted message, a user could be tricked into decrypting an encrypted message and then deleting an attachment attached to this message. If the attacker has access to the messages stored on the email server, then the attacker could read the decrypted content of the encrypted message. This occurs in ViewerPrivate::deleteAttachment in messageviewer/src/viewer/viewer_p.cpp.
Why it matters now
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.
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-31855
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-h76g-vp43-8cw5
References
More KDE Messagelib vulnerabilities
- TI-2017-07005 KDE kmail before 5.5.2 and messagelib before 5.5.2, as distributed in KDE Applications… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2021-31855 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-31855 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h76g-vp43-8cw5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-31855 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences