CVE-2023-26490
CVSS v3
8.8
HIGH
EPSS Score
2.2 %
exploit probability, as of 2026-09-25
CISA KEV
No
known exploited
Exploitation
—
SSVC status
Description
mailcow is a dockerized email package, with multiple containers linked in one bridged network. The Sync Job feature - which can be made available to standard users by assigning them the necessary permission - suffers from a shell command injection. A malicious user can abuse this vulnerability to obtain shell access to the Docker container running dovecot. The imapsync Perl script implements all the necessary functionality for this feature, including the XOAUTH2 authentication mechanism. This code path creates a shell command to call openssl. However, since different parts of the specified user password are included without any validation, one can simply execute additional shell commands. Notably, the default ACL for a newly-created mailcow account does not include the necessary permission. The Issue has been fixed within the 2023-03 Update (March 3rd 2023). As a temporary workaround the Syncjob ACL can be removed from all mailbox users, preventing from creating or changing existing Syncjobs.
Technical details
- Published
- 2023-03-04
Frequently asked questions
What is CVE-2023-26490?
mailcow is a dockerized email package, with multiple containers linked in one bridged network. The Sync Job feature - which can be made available to standard users by assigning them the necessary permission - suffers from a shell command injection. A malicious user can abuse this vulnerability to obtain shell access to the Docker container running dovecot. The imapsync Perl script implements all the necessary functionality for this feature, including the XOAUTH2 authentication mechanism. This code path creates a shell command to call openssl. However, since different parts of the specified user password are included without any validation, one can simply execute additional shell commands. Notably, the default ACL for a newly-created mailcow account does not include the necessary permission. The Issue has been fixed within the 2023-03 Update (March 3rd 2023). As a temporary workaround the Syncjob ACL can be removed from all mailbox users, preventing from creating or changing existing Syncjobs.
Is CVE-2023-26490 actively exploited?
Active exploitation of CVE-2023-26490 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 2.2% on 2026-09-25, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-26490?
CVE-2023-26490 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity).
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