CVE-2023-42117 | Exim Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exim Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a memory corruption condition. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-17554.

Published: 2024-05-02 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-42117 is rated High Risk (69.7/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 5.67%, 92th 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-2023-42117

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 7.35% 5.67% -1.68%
2 2026-01-06 10.90% 7.35% -3.55%
3 2025-12-28 — 10.90% —

Full EPSS history (19 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-42117

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/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]
8.1 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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.
 2.2 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-42117

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-42117

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-42117: 1 source package rows (exim); 33 state rows across 6 repos (3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 6, open 27. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-42117
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-42117 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-2023-42117
gentoo high CVE-2023-42117: 1 GLSA(s) (202402-18), 1 atom(s) (mail-mta/exim); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-42117
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-42117
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-42117 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (exim4), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 8. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-42117

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-42117

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
exim exim < 4.96.2 cpe:2.3:a:exim:exim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-42117

cvelogic Threat Intelligence