Resource allocation without limits in Open-Xchange GmbH OX Dovecot Pro
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-770.
Summary
Having a large number of address headers (From, To, Cc, Bcc, etc.) becomes excessively CPU intensive. With 100k header lines CPU usage is already 12 seconds, and in a production environment we observed 500k header lines taking 18 minutes to parse. Since this can be triggered by external actors sending emails to a victim, this is a security issue. An external attacker can send specially crafted messages that consume target system resources and cause outage. One can implement restrictions on address headers on MTA component preceding Dovecot. No publicly available exploits are known.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Xchange GmbH | OX Dovecot Pro | up to 2.3.21 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- OX Dovecot Pro VendorOpen-Xchange GmbH Affected up to 2.3.21 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 3 advisories
- RHSA-2024:6973 Released 2024-09-24 · Red Hat rating Moderatedovecot security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) dovecot-1:2.3.16-6.el8_10, dovecot-mysql-1:2.3.16-6.el8_10, dovecot-pgsql-1:2.3.16-6.el8_10 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) dovecot-1:2.3.16-6.el8_10, dovecot-devel-1:2.3.16-6.el8_10
- RHSA-2024:6529 Released 2024-09-10 · Red Hat rating Moderatedovecot security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) dovecot-1:2.3.16-11.el9_4.1, dovecot-mysql-1:2.3.16-11.el9_4.1, dovecot-pgsql-1:2.3.16-11.el9_4.1 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) dovecot-1:2.3.16-11.el9_4.1, dovecot-devel-1:2.3.16-11.el9_4.1
- RHSA-2024:6465 Released 2024-09-09 · Red Hat rating Moderatedovecot security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.2) dovecot-1:2.3.16-8.el9_2.1, dovecot-devel-1:2.3.16-8.el9_2.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) dovecot-1:2.3.16-8.el9_2.1, dovecot-mysql-1:2.3.16-8.el9_2.1, dovecot-pgsql-1:2.3.16-8.el9_2.1 +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 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6465 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6973 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6529 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6465 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6973 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:6529 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-23184
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5f48-j349-fj3m
References
More Open-Xchange GmbH vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-04069 Improper check for unusual conditions in Mozilla Firefox CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-17394 OX App Suite through 7.10.6 allows SSRF because the anti-SSRF protection mechanism only… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2022-17393 OX App Suite through 7.10.6 has Uncontrolled Resource Consumption via a large request… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2022-17392 OX App Suite through 7.10.6 has Uncontrolled Resource Consumption via a large location… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2022-17391 OX App Suite through 7.10.6 allows XSS via a malicious capability to the metrics or help… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.1
- TI-2022-17390 OX App Suite through 7.10.6 allows XSS via script code within a contact that has an e-mail address but lacks a name. CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.1
Sources
- CVE-2024-23184 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-23184 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5f48-j349-fj3m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-23184 · 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