CVE-2010-4345

exim, opensuse, debian linux

Published 14 Dec 2010 · updated 16 Jun 2026 · Analyzed

7.8 High · CVSS 3.1, NVD

Exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 25 Mar 2022, with a remediation deadline of 15 Apr 2022 for US federal agencies.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate configuration file with a directive that contains arbitrary commands, as demonstrated by the spool_directory directive.

References

bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1044 · Issue Tracking, Patch
lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101209.172233.abcba158.en.html · Mailing List, Patch
lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101210.164935.385e04d0.en.html · Mailing List
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-12/msg00003.html · Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/10/1 · Mailing List
secunia.com/advisories/42576 · Broken Link, Vendor Advisory
secunia.com/advisories/42930 · Broken Link
secunia.com/advisories/43128 · Broken Link
secunia.com/advisories/43243 · Broken Link
www.cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html · Broken Link
www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2131 · Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2154 · Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
www.exim.org/lurker/message/20101207.215955.bb32d4f2.en.html · Mailing List, Vendor Advisory
www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/758489 · Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
www.metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format · Third Party Advisory
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7 · Mailing List
www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0153.html · Broken Link
www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/515172/100/0/threaded · Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
www.securityfocus.com/bid/45341 · Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
www.securitytracker.com/id?1024859 · Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril/ · Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1060-1 · Third Party Advisory
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3171 · Broken Link, Vendor Advisory
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3204 · Broken Link, Vendor Advisory
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0135 · Broken Link