Forwarded mail in hMailServer can pass DMARC for spoofed senders
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Progressive Robot hMailServer 6.0.0 through 6.3.6 does not keep the original sender when it forwards mail (CWE-441). A remote unauthenticated attacker can send mail with a From address at a hosted domain. Where the SPF record for the copy's identity authorises the server, forwarded copies reach outside receivers passing SPF and DMARC, although the message had failed DMARC when the server received it. Exploitation needs a forward, redirect, alias or list to an outside address, plus Sender Rewriting Scheme or envelope rewriting enabled, a list whose bounce address is in the domain's organisation, or a subdomain envelope sender that SPF authorises.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
Insufficient preservation of the original sender in the forwarding of Progressive Robot hMailServer 6.0.0 through 6.3.6 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to have mail they write, naming in its From an address at a domain the server hosts, delivered to other receivers as passing that domain's DMARC policy. When the server sent on a copy of mail that came from outside - an account's forward, a mail rule's forward, a Sieve redirect, a list's copy, or an alias or list expanding to an outside address - it could give the copy an SMTP identity in the organisation of the domain the copy's From names, whatever the message's origin: with the Sender Rewriting Scheme or the rewrite of the envelope sender on forwarding enabled (both off by default), an address at the forwarding domain; for a list, its bounce address; for a message with an empty envelope sender, none, under the server's own host name; and an envelope sender the message came with at a subdomain of a hosted domain was kept. Where that identity's SPF record authorises the server, other receivers' SPF check of the copy passed for a domain aligned with the From, and DMARC passed with it, although the message had not passed DMARC when the server received it. Exploitation needs a forward, redirect, alias or list that carries the hosted domain's mail to an outside address, and one of: SRS or the envelope rewrite enabled; a list whose bounce address is in the domain's organisation; an envelope sender at a subdomain whose SPF record authorises the server; or, for an empty envelope sender, an SPF record that authorises the server under its host name. The DKIM route to the same result is CVE-2026-107567.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Robot Ltd | hMailServer | 6.0.0 – 6.3.6 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- hMailServer VendorProgressive Robot Ltd Affected 6.0.0 – 6.3.6 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
The sources list no fixed version for hMailServer.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Timeline
- 2026-10-21 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-114478
- 2026-10-21 Alias added: GHSA-w852-m7j4-xm48
- 2026-10-23 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Progressive Robot Ltd vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-64884 Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code ('Eval Injection') in hMailServer CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-76418 Unchecked loop limit in hMailServer lets remote attackers stop mail CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-69567 Inefficient processing in hMailServer stalls mail delivery CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-69565 Infinite loop in hMailServer MIME handling lets attackers stop mail CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-69564 Inefficient DKIM and ARC checks in hMailServer cause denial of service CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-69562 Inefficient JSON parsing in hMailServer lets attackers halt mail CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-114478 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-114478 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w852-m7j4-xm48 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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