CVE-2026-40684
What it is
In Exim before 4.99.2, on systems using musl libc (not glibc), an attacker can crash the connection instance when malformed DNS data is present in PTR records. This is caused by a dn_expand oddity in octal printing.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.
- Exploit odds
- 0.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Fix
- A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.
Timeline
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-684
- Record status
- Modified
Affected
- Exim < 4.99.2
Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.9
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Fix and advisories
- https://code.exim.org/exim/exim/commit/628bbaca7672748d941a12e7cd5f0122a4e18c81
- https://exim.org/static/doc/security/cve-2026-04.1/CVE2026-40684.assessment
References
- https://code.exim.org/exim/exim/commit/628bbaca7672748d941a12e7cd5f0122a4e18c81
- https://exim.org/static/doc/security/CVE-2026-40684.txt
- https://exim.org/static/doc/security/cve-2026-04.1/CVE2026-40684.assessment
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/30/21
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/11