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TI-2024-15297 Aliases CVE-2024-23185GHSA-g9m4-c8qf-67qw

Resource allocation without limits in Open-Xchange GmbH OX Dovecot Pro

Priority MEDIUM 41CWE-770Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
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

Very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to message-header-parser, it starts building up "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit, so large headers can cause large memory usage. It doesn't matter whether it's a single long header line, or a single header split into multiple lines. This bug exists in all Dovecot versions. Incoming mails typically have some size limits set by MTA, so even largest possible header size may still fit into Dovecot's vsz_limit. So attackers probably can't DoS a victim user this way. A user could APPEND larger mails though, allowing them to DoS themselves (although maybe cause some memory issues for the backend in general). One can implement restrictions on headers on MTA component preceding Dovecot. No publicly available exploits are known.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.01295 70th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 3 advisoriesRed Hat: 6 fixed, 2 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
Yes
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
Open-Xchange GmbHOX Dovecot Proup to 2.3.21—No fix listedCNA
  • OX Dovecot Pro VendorOpen-Xchange GmbH Affected up to 2.3.21 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE names CISA-ADP · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:open-xchange:ox_dovecot_pro:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Open-Xchange GmbH
  • cpe:2.3:a:open-xchange:ox_dovecot_pro:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Open-Xchange GmbH

Remediation

Red Hat 3 advisories

  • RHSA-2024:6973 Released 2024-09-24 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    dovecot 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 Moderate
    dovecot 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 Moderate
    dovecot 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 →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo 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

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-23185
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g9m4-c8qf-67qw

References

Advisory 1

  • 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
See all 317 →

Sources

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