What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3181?

CVE-2021-3181 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.8%.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2021-3181?

Yes, a patch is available for CVE-2021-3181. Update the affected software to the latest version immediately.

Mutt CVE-2021-3181

MEDIUM

Memory Leak (CWE-401)

2021-01-19 cve@mitre.org

Denial Of Service Debian Debian Linux Fedora Mutt Fedoraproject

6.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-401 ASVS 5.0 V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Resource cleanup, leak prevention
Impact	CVSS score of 6.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could exhaust available memory leading to denial of service by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

Patch available 2.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

rfc822.c in Mutt through 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (mailbox unavailability) by sending email messages with sequences of semicolon characters in RFC822 address fields. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Memory Leak vulnerability could allow attackers to exhaust available memory leading to denial of service.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Ensure all allocated memory is properly freed. Use RAII patterns or garbage-collected languages.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

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 Memory Leak (CWE-401), which allows attackers to exhaust available memory leading to denial of service. rfc822.c in Mutt through 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (mailbox unavailability) by sending email messages with sequences of semicolon characters in RFC822 address fields (aka terminators of empty groups). A small email message from the attacker can cause large memory consumption, and the victim may then be unable to see email messages from other persons. Affected products include: Mutt, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora. Version information: through 2.0.4.

Know when Mutt gets its next vulnerability

Watch products and get an email when something new is published
Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

Continue with Google Continue with GitHub

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

rfc822.c in Mutt through 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (mailbox unavailability) by sending email messages with sequences of semicolon characters in RFC822 address fields (aka terminators of empty groups). A small email message from the attacker can cause large memory consumption, and the victim may then be unable to see email messages from other persons.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

2.8%

Top 15% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

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.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 2.8%

Patch available Yes

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +3

CVSS: +32

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:mutt:mutt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*