Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAttacker controls/compromises mail server advertising NTLM
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DeliveryVictim fetchmail polls server with NTLM auth
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ExploitServer sends crafted Type 2 challenge
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ExecutionOverflow fixed stack buffer building response
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ImpactCode execution or process crash as fetchmail user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Stack buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires fetchmail to be BUILT with NTLM support AND configured to use NTLM authentication against the attacker-controlled endpoint. The attacker must control, compromise, or MITM the mail server that fetchmail connects to (this is a malicious-server/client-side vulnerability, not a service-facing one). Exploitation is triggered automatically when fetchmail polls the hostile server, but reliable code execution is limited by stack-frame layout and defeated-or-downgraded-to-crash by memory hardening (stack canaries, ASLR, FORTIFY_SOURCE) present on modern RHEL builds. Not exploitable against fetchmail instances that do not use NTLM auth or that only connect to trusted servers over authenticated TLS. |
| Impact | This is a genuinely serious flaw but with meaningful preconditions that temper raw urgency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 8.1) correctly captures the two defining traits: this is a 'reverse' or malicious-server attack (the mail SERVER attacks the fetchmail CLIENT via a crafted NTLM Type 2 challenge), and AC:H reflects that reliable RCE depends on stack-frame layout - the description itself hedges ('may lead to remote code execution depending on stack-frame layout, or to authentication failure or process termination under memory hardening'). On modern hardened builds (stack canaries, ASLR, FORTIFY_SOURCE) the realistic outcome is often a crash (availability impact) rather than code execution, so the C:H/I:H may be optimistic for RHEL 8/9/10 defaults. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC are provided in the input, so exploitation status is: no public exploit identified at time of analysis. No SSVC decision data is provided. Net: a real patch-worthy issue for anyone running fetchmail with NTLM against untrusted/compromisable servers, but NOT a drop-everything internet-wide emergency - exploitation requires the victim to poll a hostile server with NTLM auth enabled, which is a narrow configuration. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who controls or has compromised a mail server (or can MITM an unencrypted POP3/IMAP session) configures it to advertise NTLM authentication. When a victim's fetchmail - built with NTLM support and configured to use it - connects and polls, the server returns a crafted NTLM Type 2 challenge that overflows a fixed stack buffer as fetchmail builds the authenticate response, potentially executing code with the fetchmail user's privileges or crashing the process. No public exploit code is identified in the provided data. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 21, 2026
Stack-based buffer overflow in fetchmail when built with NTLM support allows a malicious or compromised mail server to trigger memory corruption by sending a crafted NTLM Type 2 challenge, potentially leading to remote code execution, authentication failure, or process termination. Exploitation requires fetchmail to be built with NTLM and configured to authenticate via NTLM against an attacker-controlled or man-in-the-middle'd server; no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified. The flaw carries a CVSS score of 8.1 with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, though reliable RCE is limited by stack-frame layout and modern memory hardening (stack canaries, ASLR, FORTIFY_SOURCE) on RHEL builds.
RemediationAI
Apply the upstream fix commit cb5be5c38471eec19e519ace0bc569176317ea92 from the fetchmail GitLab repository, as referenced in fetchmail-SA-2026-01.txt; a vendor-released patched version is not independently confirmed at time of analysis. Red Hat has published an advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-94184 - check for updated fetchmail packages across RHEL 6 through 10 and apply them when available. As a workaround, rebuild fetchmail without NTLM support (e.g., --disable-ntlm) or configure fetchmail to avoid NTLM authentication, and ensure connections are made only to trusted mail servers over authenticated TLS; disabling NTLM may break authentication to servers that require it. Ensure memory hardening (stack canaries, ASLR, FORTIFY_SOURCE) is enabled, which can turn potential code execution into a crash but does not eliminate the overflow.
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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
The vulnerability is a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121) in fetchmail's NTLM authentication handling. NTLM is a challenge-response authentication protocol used by some mail servers; when fetchmail connects to a server that advertises NTLM, it processes a Type 2 challenge message containing variable-length fields such as the target name, target info, and nonce. Fetchmail copies data from this challenge into a fixed-size stack buffer while building the Type 3 authenticate response, without adequate bounds checking, allowing a malicious server to overwrite adjacent stack memory. This can corrupt control data, potentially achieving remote code execution depending on stack layout, or causing authentication failure or process termination when memory hardening is present. The affected products per CPE are Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_*), which ship fetchmail built with NTLM support. The flaw is client-side; the attacker must control, compromise, or MITM the mail server that fetchmail contacts, and exploitation is not possible against instances that do not use NTLM or that only connect to trusted servers over authenticated TLS.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Malicious-server attack over network with no client auth (PR:N); AC:H because success depends on stack-frame layout and hardening; full impact retained since RCE is plausible where memory protections are weak.
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
A stack-based buffer overflow flaw was found in fetchmail when built with NTLM support. A malicious or compromised mail server advertising NTLM authentication can send a crafted Type 2 challenge that causes fetchmail to write past a fixed stack buffer while building the NTLM authenticate response. This may lead to remote code execution depending on stack-frame layout, or to authentication failure or process termination under memory hardening.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity memory corruption flaw in fetchmail affects only deployments compiled with NTLM authentication support, where a malicious or man-in-the-middle mail server can crash or potentially compromise the client process used to retrieve organizational email. Because fetchmail is commonly run as a scheduled service under a privileged account, a successful attack could interrupt mail retrieval for dependent teams and, in the worst case, allow code execution on the host. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and reliable remote code execution is constrained by stack canaries, ASLR, and FORTIFY_SOURCE on current RHEL builds.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis; interim mitigations are to disable NTLM authentication in fetchmail (switch to password, CRAM-MD5, or Kerberos), rebuild fetchmail without NTLM support where the feature is not operationally required, enforce TLS with strict certificate and hostname validation to prevent man-in-the-middle challenge injection, limit fetchmail to an allowlist of trusted internal mail servers, and run the service under a least-privilege account with monitoring for crashes or anomalous behavior.
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
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A stack-based buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer located on the stack than it was allocated to hold.
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
report_vbuild in report.c in Fetchmail before 6.4.20 sometimes omits initialization of the vsnprintf va_list argument, w
Fetchmail 5.0.8 through 6.3.21, when using NTLM authentication in debug mode, allows remote NTLM servers to (1) cause a
Fetchmail before 6.4.22 fails to enforce STARTTLS session encryption in some circumstances, such as a certain situation
Same weakness CWE-121 – Stack-based Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 12 SP2-CLIENT | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for NVIDIA 16.1 | Affected |
EUVD-2026-83923
GHSA-5pfw-5pv2-2pc6
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB