HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2017-14461
MEDIUM

CVE-2017-14461

CWE-125Published: March 2, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

5.9
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A specially crafted email delivered over SMTP and passed on to Dovecot by MTA can trigger an out of bounds read resulting in potential sensitive information disclosure and denial of service. In order to trigger this vulnerability, an attacker needs to send a specially crafted email message to the server.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2017-14461 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 5.9.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Debian1 product(s)
debian linux
dovecot1 product(s)
dovecot
Ubuntu1 product(s)
ubuntu
Source: NVD CPE · 6 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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Official Patches & Advisories

All References (14)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2017-14461
CVSS Score5.9 / 10
SeverityMEDIUM
WeaknessCWE-125
CISA KEVNo
Affected3 vendor(s)
PublishedMar 2, 2018

Related CVEs (CWE-125)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2017-14461 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.