CVE-2026-40017

dovecot: Dovecot: Denial of Service via crafted IMAP message headers

Published Aug 28, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 6.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
An attacker that can send mail to a user can craft a message header whose values are chosen to collide in an internal hash table, which makes the IMAP THREAD command consume CPU disproportionate to the size of the message. This is a separate issue from CVE-2026-40014 and is not addressed by that fix. Whenever a mail client issues a THREAD command on the affected mailbox, this can cause degradation or denial of service for IMAP. Monitor system for abnormal CPU usage, kill the offending process and remove the offending message from the affected mailbox. Update to non-vulnerable version. 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-4873-1 dovecot security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6526-1 dovecot security update
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Open-xchange
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Ce
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Pro
Vendors & Products Open-xchange
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Ce
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Pro
Type Values Removed Values Added
Title CPU Exhaustion via Crafted Email Header Collision Triggering IMAP THREAD Denial of Service dovecot: Dovecot: Denial of Service via crafted IMAP message headers
Weaknesses CWE-770
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title CPU Exhaustion via Crafted Email Header Collision Triggering IMAP THREAD Denial of Service
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description An attacker that can send mail to a user can craft a message header whose values are chosen to collide in an internal hash table, which makes the IMAP THREAD command consume CPU disproportionate to the size of the message. This is a separate issue from CVE-2026-40014 and is not addressed by that fix. Whenever a mail client issues a THREAD command on the affected mailbox, this can cause degradation or denial of service for IMAP. Monitor system for abnormal CPU usage, kill the offending process and remove the offending message from the affected mailbox. Update to non-vulnerable version. No publicly available exploits are known.
Weaknesses CWE-400
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
OX
Published
Updated
Aug 28, 2026, 3:02 PM
Reserved
Apr 8, 2026, 9:59 AM
Status
Deferred
Published
Aug 28, 2026, 12:16 PM
Modified
Sep 3, 2026, 6:13 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Aug 28, 2026, 10:12 AM