Spamassassin
CVE-2018-11781
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Code injection prevention, sandbox exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local attacker with access to the system could inject and execute arbitrary code within the application. |
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Alert meAnalysisAI
Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.2 fixes a local user code injection in the meta rule syntax. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
RemediationAI
No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Never evaluate user-controlled input as code. Use sandboxing, disable dangerous functions, apply strict input validation.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94), which allows attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code within the application. Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.2 fixes a local user code injection in the meta rule syntax. Affected products include: Apache Spamassassin, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.2 fixes a local user code injection in the meta rule syntax.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Affected Products (CPE)NVD
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In Apache SpamAssassin before 3.4.3, a message can be crafted in a way to use excessive resources. Rated high severity (
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB