CVE-2017-16844

Heap-based buffer overflow in the loadbuf function in formisc.c in formail in procmail 3.22 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted e-mail message because of a hardcoded realloc size, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-3618.

Published: 2017-11-16 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-16844 is rated High Risk (67.7/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 12.52%, 96th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-16844

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 20.23% 12.52% -7.71%
2 2026-05-11 22.03% 20.23% -1.80%
3 2026-02-11 — 22.03% —

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-16844

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-16844

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-16844

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2017-16844 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (procmail), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-16844
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16844
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16844/
ubuntu high CVE-2017-16844 high priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (procmail), 5 status rows across 5 suites (artful, trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): released 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-16844

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-16844

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
procmail procmail 3.22 cpe:2.3:a:procmail:procmail:3.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-16844

cvelogic Threat Intelligence