CVE-2024-23185

dovecot: very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message

Published Sep 10, 2024 CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 High EPSS 1.3% KEV · Not listed
Description
Very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to message-header-parser, it starts building up "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit, so large headers can cause large memory usage. It doesn't matter whether it's a single long header line, or a single header split into multiple lines. This bug exists in all Dovecot versions. Incoming mails typically have some size limits set by MTA, so even largest possible header size may still fit into Dovecot's vsz_limit. So attackers probably can't DoS a victim user this way. A user could APPEND larger mails though, allowing them to DoS themselves (although maybe cause some memory issues for the backend in general). One can implement restrictions on headers on MTA component preceding Dovecot. No publicly available exploits are known.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-3860-1 dovecot security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-5752-1 dovecot security update
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2024-20704 Very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to message-header-parser, it starts building up "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit, so large headers can cause large memory usage. It doesn't matter whether it's a single long header line, or a single header split into multiple lines. This bug exists in all Dovecot versions. Incoming mails typically have some size limits set by MTA, so even largest possible header size may still fit into Dovecot's vsz_limit. So attackers probably can't DoS a victim user this way. A user could APPEND larger mails though, allowing them to DoS themselves (although maybe cause some memory issues for the backend in general). One can implement restrictions on headers on MTA component preceding Dovecot. No publicly available exploits are known.
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-6982-1 Dovecot vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7013-1 Dovecot vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat enterprise Linux
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat enterprise Linux
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A security issue was found in Dovecot. Very large headers can lead to resource exhaustion when parsing messages. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to the message-header-parser, it starts building up a "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit so large headers can cause large memory usage. This issue occurs whether it is a single long header line or a single header split into multiple lines. Very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to message-header-parser, it starts building up "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit, so large headers can cause large memory usage. It doesn't matter whether it's a single long header line, or a single header split into multiple lines. This bug exists in all Dovecot versions. Incoming mails typically have some size limits set by MTA, so even largest possible header size may still fit into Dovecot's vsz_limit. So attackers probably can't DoS a victim user this way. A user could APPEND larger mails though, allowing them to DoS themselves (although maybe cause some memory issues for the backend in general). One can implement restrictions on headers on MTA component preceding Dovecot. No publicly available exploits are known.
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat rhel Eus
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_eus:9.2
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat rhel Eus
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description No description is available for this CVE. A security issue was found in Dovecot. Very large headers can lead to resource exhaustion when parsing messages. The message-parser normally reads reasonably sized chunks of the message. However, when it feeds them to the message-header-parser, it starts building up a "full_value" buffer out of the smaller chunks. The full_value buffer has no size limit so large headers can cause large memory usage. This issue occurs whether it is a single long header line or a single header split into multiple lines.
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description No description is available for this CVE.
Title dovecot: very large headers can cause resource exhaustion when parsing message
Weaknesses CWE-770
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
OX
Published
Updated
Nov 4, 2025, 4:11 PM
Reserved
Jan 12, 2024, 7:03 AM
Status
Deferred
Published
Sep 10, 2024, 3:15 PM
Modified
Jun 17, 2026, 7:12 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Aug 15, 2024, 12:00 AM