CVE-2019-7524
CVE-2019-7524 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dovecot with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. 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-119.
Key facts
- Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
- CVSS v2: 7.2
- EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (64th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-119
- Affected product: Dovecot
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
In Dovecot before 2.2.36.3 and 2.3.x before 2.3.5.1, a local attacker can cause a buffer overflow in the indexer-worker process, which can be used to elevate to root. This occurs because of missing checks in the fts and pop3-uidl components.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2019-7524?
- In Dovecot before 2.2.36.3 and 2.3.x before 2.3.5.1, a local attacker can cause a buffer overflow in the indexer-worker process, which can be used to elevate to root. This occurs because of missing checks in the fts and pop3-uidl components.
- How severe is CVE-2019-7524?
- CVE-2019-7524 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
- Is CVE-2019-7524 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2019-7524?
- CVE-2019-7524 primarily affects Dovecot. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2019-7524?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2019-7524 published?
- CVE-2019-7524 was published on 2019-03-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00060.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00067.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/03/28/1
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107672
- https://dovecot.org/list/dovecot-news/2019-March/000403.html
- https://dovecot.org/security.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00038.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4XLI55NGRDTGMVOPYFCPPFNPA5VKYSSY/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QHFZ5OWRIZGIWZJ5PTNVWWZNLLNH4XYS/
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Mar/59
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201904-19
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3928-1/
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4418
Affected products (9)
- cpe:2.3:a:dovecot:dovecot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Dovecot
- CVE-2019-11500 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In Dovecot before 2.2.36.4 and 2.3.x before 2.3.7.2 (and Pigeonhole before 0.5.7.2), protocol processing can fail for…
- CVE-2022-30550 — High (CVSS 8.8): An issue was discovered in the auth component in Dovecot 2.2 and 2.3 before 2.3.20. When two passdb configuration…
- CVE-2026-24031 — High (CVSS 7.7): Dovecot SQL based authentication can be bypassed when auth_username_chars is cleared by admin. This vulnerability…
- CVE-2019-3814 — High (CVSS 7.7): It was discovered that Dovecot before versions 2.2.36.1 and 2.3.4.1 incorrectly handled client certificates. A remote…
- CVE-2026-27858 — High (CVSS 7.5): Attacker can send a specifically crafted message before authentication that causes managesieve to allocate large amount…
- CVE-2025-59032 — High (CVSS 7.5): ManageSieve AUTHENTICATE command crashes when using literal as SASL initial response. This can be used to crash…
Other CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) vulnerabilities
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- CVE-2025-1866 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in warmcat libwebsockets allows…
- CVE-2022-27625 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
- CVE-2022-27624 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
- CVE-2020-11896 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Treck TCP/IP stack before 6.0.1.66 allows Remote Code Execution, related to IPv4 tunneling.