CVE-2019-13917

Exim 4.85 through 4.92 (fixed in 4.92.1) allows remote code execution as root in some unusual configurations that use the ${sort } expansion for items that can be controlled by an attacker (e.g., $local_part or $domain).

Published: 2019-07-25 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-13917 is rated High Risk (71.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 16.40%, 95th 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-2019-13917

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 2026-06-01 17.28% 16.40% -0.88%
2 2026-05-19 19.57% 17.28% -2.30%
3 2026-05-10 — 19.57% —

Full EPSS history (49 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-13917

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-2019-13917

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-13917

vendor priority summary link
alpine critical CVE-2019-13917: 1 source package rows (exim); 17 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 7, open 10. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-13917
debian not yet assigned CVE-2019-13917 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (exim4), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-13917
gentoo high CVE-2019-13917: 1 GLSA(s) (201909-06), 1 atom(s) (mail-mta/exim); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2019-13917
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-13917
ubuntu medium CVE-2019-13917 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (exim4), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bionic, disco, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 3, needs-triage 1, not-affected 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-13917

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-13917

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
exim exim >= 4.85, <= 4.92 cpe:2.3:a:exim:exim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 10.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-13917

cvelogic Threat Intelligence