CVE-2010-4345: Exim Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-176d0c38ec01, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name
- Exim Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
- Vendor
- Exim
- Product
- Exim
- Added to the catalog
- 2022-03-25
- Due date for US federal agencies
- 2022-04-15
- Weaknesses
- CWE-264
- Catalog version
- 2026.10.30
Exim allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate configuration file with a directive that contains arbitrary commands.
Required action (CISA)
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.
Links in CISA's notes
Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json
NVD analysis
- Status
- Analyzed
- Published
- 2010-12-14T16:00:04.257
- Last modified
- 2026-06-16T23:24:36.353
- Weaknesses
- NVD-CWE-noinfo, CWE-77
Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate configuration file with a directive that contains arbitrary commands, as demonstrated by the spool_directory directive.
| Metric | Score | Severity | Vector | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | [email protected] (Primary) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Secondary) |
| CVSS 2.0 | 6.9 | MEDIUM | AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C | [email protected] (Primary) |
References
- http://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1044 (Issue Tracking, Patch)
- http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101209.172233.abcba158.en.html (Mailing List, Patch)
- http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101210.164935.385e04d0.en.html (Mailing List)
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-12/msg00003.html (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/10/1 (Mailing List)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42576 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42930 (Broken Link)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/43128 (Broken Link)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/43243 (Broken Link)
- http://www.cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html (Broken Link)
- http://www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2131 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2154 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.exim.org/lurker/message/20101207.215955.bb32d4f2.en.html (Mailing List, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/758489 (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
- http://www.metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format (Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7 (Mailing List)
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0153.html (Broken Link)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/515172/100/0/threaded (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45341 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024859 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril/ (Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1060-1 (Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3171 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3204 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0135 (Broken Link)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0245 (Broken Link)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0364 (Broken Link)
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=662012 (Issue Tracking, Patch)
- http://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1044 (Issue Tracking, Patch)
- http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101209.172233.abcba158.en.html (Mailing List, Patch)
- http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101210.164935.385e04d0.en.html (Mailing List)
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-12/msg00003.html (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/10/1 (Mailing List)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42576 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42930 (Broken Link)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/43128 (Broken Link)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/43243 (Broken Link)
- http://www.cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html (Broken Link)
- http://www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2131 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2154 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.exim.org/lurker/message/20101207.215955.bb32d4f2.en.html (Mailing List, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/758489 (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
- http://www.metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format (Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7 (Mailing List)
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0153.html (Broken Link)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/515172/100/0/threaded (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45341 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024859 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril/ (Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1060-1 (Third Party Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3171 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3204 (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0135 (Broken Link)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0245 (Broken Link)
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0364 (Broken Link)
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=662012 (Issue Tracking, Patch)
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2010-4345 (US Government Resource)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:28.906Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2010-4345
CVE record
- Assigner
- redhat
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Published
- 2010-12-14T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated
- 2025-10-22T00:05:50.114Z
- Problem types
- n/a
Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate configuration file with a directive that contains arbitrary commands, as demonstrated by the spool_directory directive.
References
- 43128
- SUSE-SA:2010:059
- [exim-dev] 20101209 Re: [Exim-maintainers] Remote root vulnerability in Exim
- VU#758489
- [exim-dev] 20101207 Remote root vulnerability in Exim
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=662012
- ADV-2011-0364
- http://www.metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format
- RHSA-2011:0153
- 45341
- 42930
- 42576
- 43243
- 1024859
- [exim-dev] 20101210 Re: Remote root vulnerability in Exim
- DSA-2154
- 20101213 Exim security issue in historical release
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril/
- ADV-2011-0245
- ADV-2011-0135
- USN-1060-1
- ADV-2010-3204
- http://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1044
- DSA-2131
- ADV-2010-3171
- http://www.cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html
- [oss-security] 20101210 Exim remote root
- [oss-security] 20210504 21Nails: Multiple vulnerabilities in Exim
Read on 2026-11-03T00:23:43.582Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2010/4xxx/CVE-2010-4345.json
Defensive techniques (MITRE D3FEND)
D3FEND maps these defensive techniques to the weakness (CWE) that NVD lists for this CVE, through the digital artifacts the weakness affects. D3FEND does not say they stop this vulnerability.
CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
- Restore: Restore Software (acts on Software)
- Harden: Domain Logic Validation (acts on Subroutine)
- Model: Asset Vulnerability Enumeration (acts on Software)
- Harden: Software Update (acts on Software)
- Harden: Credential Scrubbing (acts on Subroutine)
- Harden: Variable Initialization (acts on Subroutine)
- Isolate: Application-based Process Isolation (acts on Subroutine)
- Model: Software Inventory (acts on Software)
- Harden: Trusted Library (acts on Subroutine)
D3FEND ontology version 1.6.0.
Read on 2026-11-02T23:54:14.988Z under licence d3fend-terms-of-use@f98cbc7e from https://d3fend.mitre.org/api/weakness/cwe/CWE-77.json
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Sources and licences
CISA
Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.
National Vulnerability Database (NIST)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)
CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation
Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
MITRE D3FEND
MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/MITRE D3FEND Terms of Use (site + knowledge graph); source repo MIT
Cite this page
Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2010-4345: Exim Privilege Escalation Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-176d0c38ec01, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2010-4345 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-06-16T23:24:36.353.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2025-10-22T00:05:50.114Z.
Underlying source: MITRE D3FEND, ontology version 1.6.0.
Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.