CVE-2008-2711

CVE-2008-2711 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fetchmail with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-20.

Key facts

• Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.3)
• EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Weakness: CWE-20
• Affected product: Fetchmail
• Published: 2008-06-16
• Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

fetchmail 6.3.8 and earlier, when running in -v -v (aka verbose) mode, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash and persistent mail failure) via a malformed mail message with long headers, which triggers an erroneous dereference when using vsnprintf to format log messages.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2008-2711?

fetchmail 6.3.8 and earlier, when running in -v -v (aka verbose) mode, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash and persistent mail failure) via a malformed mail message with long headers, which triggers an erroneous dereference when using vsnprintf to format log messages.

How severe is CVE-2008-2711?

CVE-2008-2711 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2008-2711 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2008-2711?

CVE-2008-2711 primarily affects Fetchmail. In total, 114 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2008-2711?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2008-2711 published?

CVE-2008-2711 was published on 2008-06-16 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

• http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2009/Feb/msg00000.html
• http://secunia.com/advisories/30742
• http://secunia.com/advisories/30895
• http://secunia.com/advisories/31262
• http://secunia.com/advisories/31287
• http://secunia.com/advisories/33937
• http://slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2008&m=slackware-security.495740
• http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3438
• http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0235
• http://www.fetchmail.info/fetchmail-SA-2008-01.txt
• http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:117
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/06/13/1
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/08/09/1
• http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/493391/100/0/threaded
• http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/494865/100/0/threaded
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/29705
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1020298
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1860/references
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0422
• https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=354291
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/43121
• https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-2623
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10950
• https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-June/msg01091.html
• https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-June/msg01095.html

Affected products (114)

• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.6.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:4.7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:fetchmail:fetchmail:5.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Fetchmail

• CVE-2001-1009 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Fetchmail (aka fetchmail-ssl) before 5.8.17 allows a remote malicious (1) IMAP server or (2) POP/POP3 server to…
• CVE-2001-0101 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Vulnerability in fetchmail 5.5.0-2 and earlier in the AUTHENTICATE GSSAPI command.
• CVE-2006-5974 — High (CVSS 7.8): fetchmail 6.3.5 and 6.3.6 before 6.3.6-rc4, when refusing a message delivered via the mda option, allows remote…
• CVE-2006-5867 — High (CVSS 7.8): fetchmail before 6.3.6-rc4 does not properly enforce TLS and may transmit cleartext passwords over unsecured links if…
• CVE-2005-4348 — High (CVSS 7.8): fetchmail before 6.3.1 and before 6.2.5.5, when configured for multidrop mode, allows remote attackers to cause a…
• CVE-2021-36386 — High (CVSS 7.5): report_vbuild in report.c in Fetchmail before 6.4.20 sometimes omits initialization of the vsnprintf va_list argument,…

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