Is CVE-2026-45185 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2026-45185 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2026-45185 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2026-45185 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-45185?

CVE-2026-45185 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-45185

CRITICAL

CVE-2026-45185

Published: May 12, 2026· Updated: May 13, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

EPSS:0.06%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:18.3th

Official Description

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-45185 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

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Security advisories & exploits

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News & Research Mentioning CVE-2026-45185

New Exim BDAT Vulnerability Exposes GnuTLS Builds to Potential Code Execution

The Hacker News· May 12, 2026

Exim has released security updates to address a severe security issue affecting certain configurations that could enable memory corruption and potential code execution. Exim is an open-source Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) designed for Unix-like systems to receive, route, and deliver email. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-45185, aka Dead.Letter, has been described as a use-after-free [xlite_meta score:53 src:The Hacker News xlite_fp:bb3589f16b24d360fd9bde80c5926c71069276c974c925b018a5430f5d9a9c03]