[CIVN-2026-0242] Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Exim

By Published On: May 19, 2026

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Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Exim


Indian – Computer Emergency Response Team (https://www.cert-in.org.in)


Severity Rating: CRITICAL


Software Affected


Exim versions 4.97 through 4.99.2

Overview


A vulnerability has been reported in Exim, which could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.


Target Audience:

All end-user organizations and individuals using Exim.


Risk Assessment:

High risk of remote code execution.


Impact Assessment:

Potential for memory corruption.


Description


Exim is an open-source Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) designed for Unix-like operating systems that handles email reception, routing, and delivery.


This vulnerability exists in Exim due use-after-free flaw in the BDAT body parsing path. An unauthenticated remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a TLS close_notify during an active BDAT transfer and subsequently sending an additional clear text byte over the same TCP connection.


Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.


Solution


Apply appropriate updates as mentioned in:

https://www.exim.org/static/doc/security/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1.txt



Vendor Information


Exim

https://www.exim.org/static/doc/security/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1.txt


References


Exim

https://www.exim.org/static/doc/security/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1/EXIM-Security-2026-05-01.1.txt


The Hacker News

https://thehackernews.com/2026/05/new-exim-bdat-vulnerability-exposes.html


CVE Name

CVE-2026-45185


 




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Thanks and Regards,

CERT-In


Incident Response Help Desk

e-mail: incident@cert-in.org.in

Phone: +91-11-22902657

Toll Free Number: 1800-11-4949

Toll Free Fax : 1800-11-6969

Web: http://www.cert-in.org.in

PGP Fingerprint: A768 083E 4475 5725 B81A A379 2156 C0C0 B620 D0B4

PGP Key information:

https://www.cert-in.org.in/s2cMainServlet?pageid=CONTACTUS


Postal address:

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Government of India

Electronics Niketan

6, C.G.O. Complex

New Delhi-110 003

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