Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify Joomla site running AcyMailing mailbox feature
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DeliveryEmail PHP-laden MIME attachment to monitored mailbox
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ExploitExtension writes file to media/com_acym/upload/ with no extension check
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ExecutionRequest dropped .php via HTTP
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code as web-server account
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling File type validation, storage isolation
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Command and Control, Persistence The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires the AcyMailing Enterprise 'mailbox action' feature to be enabled and actively monitoring an inbound mailbox (used for bounce/reply processing) - this is the concrete precondition (AT:P) and is not a default configuration. Given that feature, exploitation is unauthenticated and trivial: the attacker only needs to know or guess the monitored email address and send a message whose MIME part contains PHP, since media/com_acym/upload/ performs no extension check and is web-accessible. Limiting factors: affected only on AcyMailing Enterprise < 11.1.0 with mailbox monitoring configured; the upload directory must be reachable via HTTP and PHP-executable (typical default), and successful RCE runs at the privilege of the web-server account. |
| Impact | This is a genuinely high-impact flaw whose real-world risk hinges on a single deployment precondition. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) confirms remote, unauthenticated exploitation with no user interaction - an attacker merely sends an email to the monitored mailbox - and CWE-434 (unrestricted upload writing a PHP file into the web root) yields full code execution, justifying the 9.5 vendor score. However, the vector carries AT:P (Attack Requirement: Present), which matches the description's dependency on the optional 'mailbox action' inbound-mail feature being configured; without that feature enabled and monitoring a mailbox, the code path is never reached. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no POC are present in the provided data, so there is no evidence of active or automated exploitation - this reads as a serious-but-not-yet-weaponized issue whose priority is gated by how many installs actually run the mailbox feature. The vendor's use of SC:H/SI:H/SA:H (full subsequent-system impact) appears inflated: RCE lands as the web-server account on the same host rather than clearly compromising a separate downstream system - verify scope with the vendor. Net: prioritize for any site running AcyMailing Enterprise with inbound mailbox monitoring; deprioritize where that feature is off. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker sends a crafted email containing a MIME attachment whose payload is PHP source (e.g. a webshell) to the mailbox that AcyMailing Enterprise is configured to monitor. The extension saves the MIME part to media/com_acym/upload/ without checking the file extension, dropping a .php file into the web root; the attacker then requests that file over HTTP to execute arbitrary code as the web-server account. No public exploit was identified at time of analysis, but the attack requires only the ability to send email to a known address. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 26, 2026
Unauthenticated remote code execution in AcyMailing Enterprise for Joomla (versions before 11.1.0) lets anyone who can email the address monitored by the extension's 'mailbox action' feature write a PHP file into the site's web root, because inbound MIME parts are stored under media/com_acym/upload/ with no extension check (CWE-434); once reachable over HTTP and PHP-executable, that file runs as the web-server account. The gating precondition is that mailbox monitoring is enabled and the upload path is web-exposed, which is not a default configuration, but where it applies exploitation is trivial and requires no authentication (CVSS 4.0 9.5 with AT:P; independent assessment CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H, with the scope change reflecting impact escaping the extension into the hosting Joomla site). No public exploit code and no confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV) were identified at time of analysis; the vendor-released fix is AcyMailing Enterprise 11.1.0.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: AcyMailing Enterprise 11.1.0 - upgrade to 11.1.0 or later from the vendor at https://www.acymailing.com/, which closes the missing extension check on files written to media/com_acym/upload/. If upgrading immediately is not possible, the single most effective compensating control is to disable the mailbox action / inbox monitoring feature or disconnect the extension's monitored mailbox entirely, which removes the attack path at the cost of losing automated bounce and reply processing; because exploitation needs only the monitored mailbox address, that address is itself an attack surface and rotating it reduces discovery but does not fix the flaw. In addition, block HTTP access to media/com_acym/upload/ and disable PHP execution in that directory via web-server rules (for example .htaccess deny and php_flag engine off or an equivalent handler restriction), accepting the trade-off that any legitimate files delivered through that path may no longer be served correctly. Because a successful upload executes as the web-server account, review media/com_acym/upload/ for unexpected PHP files and investigate for compromise after applying the fix or the workarounds. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, so prioritisation should be driven by whether the precondition (active, web-exposed mailbox monitoring) exists in your deployment.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
AcyMailing is a widely deployed Joomla newsletter and mailing-list extension; the Enterprise edition adds a 'mailbox action' feature that polls an inbound mailbox (typically used for bounce and reply handling) and processes incoming messages, decoding their MIME parts to disk. In vulnerable builds the decoded content is written into media/com_acym/upload/, a directory that sits inside the Joomla web root and is normally served over HTTP with PHP execution enabled. Because no file-extension or content-type validation is performed on the stored MIME parts, an attacker who knows or guesses the monitored mailbox address can attach PHP content and have it land as an executable script - the classic unrestricted upload of a dangerous file type (CWE-434) that escalates directly to remote code execution. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:acymailing.com:acymailing_enterprise_extension_for_joomla:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, combined with the '< 11.1.0' affected range, identifies every Enterprise release prior to the fix. The CVSS 4.0 AT:P metric and the independently assessed AC:H both encode the same non-default deployment prerequisite (an actively monitored inbox), while S:C captures that successful exploitation crosses the boundary from the extension into the web server and the surrounding site.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
Unauthenticated remote email delivery (PR:N/UI:N); AC:H reflects the required non-default mailbox-monitoring configuration; S:C as webroot write escalates to host code execution.
Primary rating from Vendor (Joomla).
CVSS VectorVendor: Joomla
DescriptionCVE.org
Joomla Extension - acymailing.com - Remote Code Execution vulnerability in mailbox action feature in AcyMailing Enterprise extension < 11.1.0 - MIME parts of incoming emails were saved to media/com_acym/upload/ with no extension check, so anyone who could email the monitored mailbox could write a PHP file into the web root.
Executive ViewAI
AcyMailing Enterprise for Joomla (versions before 11.1.0) contains an unauthenticated remote code execution flaw that lets an attacker run arbitrary PHP under the web server account by simply emailing a monitored mailbox, giving full control of the hosting Joomla site. Impact is concentrated on organizations that have enabled the extension's mailbox-monitoring feature and exposed its upload directory to the web - a non-default but plausible marketing/communications configuration. Because no credentials are needed and the flaw crosses from the extension into the underlying site, leadership should treat any affected, feature-enabled deployment as a potential full-site compromise with downstream data, brand, and hosting-pivot risk.
Apply vendor patch.
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
Malicious file upload attacks exploit insufficient validation when web applications accept user-provided files.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
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EUVD-2026-87772
GHSA-x2ch-94w5-cr2g
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB