CVE-2019-10149
A flaw was found in Exim versions 4.87 to 4.91 (inclusive). Improper validation of recipient address in deliver_message() function in…
- 9.0CriticalCVSS base score
- 100.0%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 0.1% of all CVEs
- YesKnown exploitedin CISA's KEV since 10 Jan 2022
- 4Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
A flaw was found in Exim versions 4.87 to 4.91 (inclusive). Improper validation of recipient address in deliver_message() function in /src/deliver.c may lead to remote command execution.
Exploited in the wild
CISA lists this vulnerability in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as Exim Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) Improper Input Validation.
- Added
- 10 Jan 2022
- Fix due (US federal)
- 10 Jul 2022
- Used by ransomware
- Not known
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
ENISA's EU Vulnerability Database lists it as exploited, from CISA's KEV, since 10 Jan 2022.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list a Metasploit module and 3 Exploit-DB entries for it. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: it is being exploited.
Show the exploits4
Metasploit modules1 module
- Exim 4.87 - 4.91 Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit module) (opens in a new tab)
exploit/linux/local/exim4_deliver_message_priv_escRank excellentdisclosed 5 Jun 2019
Exploit-DB3 entries
- Exim 4.87 / 4.91 - Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 47307local, linuxpublished 26 Aug 2019Verified
- Exim 4.87 - 4.91 - Local Privilege Escalation (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 46996local, linuxpublished 17 Jun 2019Verified
- Exim 4.87 < 4.91 - (Local / Remote) Command Execution (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 46974remote, linuxpublished 5 Jun 2019Not verified
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By redhat
- 2 months later
· 2 months later
Published
- 3 years later
· 3 years later
Added to CISA KEV
Known exploited in the wild
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| redhatCNA (assigner) | 3.0 | Critical9.0 | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Critical9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 100.0% · top 0.1% of all CVEs (9 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.0.
Affected products
References
21
- [oss-security] 20190605 Re: CVE-2019-10149: Exim 4.87 to 4.91: possible remote exploit (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- USN-4010-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190605 Re: CVE-2019-10149: Exim 4.87 to 4.91: possible remote exploit (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190605 Re: CVE-2019-10149: Exim 4.87 to 4.91: possible remote exploit (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- DSA-4456 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- 20190605 [SECURITY] [DSA 4456-1] exim4 security update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- GLSA-201906-01 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190606 Re: CVE-2019-10149: Exim 4.87 to 4.91: possible remote exploit (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- 108679 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_transferred
- openSUSE-SU-2019:1524 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- 20190611 The Return of the WIZard: RCE in Exim (CVE-2019-10149) (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190725 Re: Statistics for distros lists updated for 2019Q2 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190725 Re: Statistics for distros lists updated for 2019Q2 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20190726 Re: Statistics for distros lists updated for 2019Q2 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20210504 21Nails: Multiple vulnerabilities in Exim (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10149 (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- https://www.exim.org/static/doc/security/CVE-2019-10149.txt (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153218/Exim-4.9.1-Remote-Command-Execution.html (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153312/Exim-4.91-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154198/Exim-4.91-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-10149 (opens in a new tab)government-resource
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CISA KEV catalog (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2019-2187 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2019-10149)Record last updated .