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Vulnerabilities/CVE-2020-7247
Vulnerability dossier

CVE-2020-7247

OpenSMTPD Remote Command Execution via SMTP MAIL FROM

VendordebianPublishedJan 29, 2020SourceNVDWeaknessCWE-78
Act now

Actively exploited in the wild. Patch or mitigate immediately — don't wait for a maintenance window.

⚙ WeaponizedMetasploit module availableopen ↗PoCPublic exploit on Exploit-DB#48038 ↗#47984 ↗#48051 ↗
Severity
Critical · 9.8
CVSS base score
Exploitation
In the wild
CISA KEV · Metasploit · Exploit-DB
Predicted risk
99% model
EPSS forecast — overtaken by confirmed exploitation
Exposure
Internet-facing
Exploitable remotely, no login, no user action
01

What's the risk?

An unauthenticated attacker, remotely over the network, with no user interaction, can fully compromise the system — steal data, tamper with it and take it offline.

smtp_mailaddr in smtp_session.c in OpenSMTPD 6.6, as used in OpenBSD 6.6 and other products, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands as root via a crafted SMTP session, as demonstrated by shell metacharacters in a MAIL FROM field. This affects the "uncommented" default configuration. The issue exists because of an incorrect return value upon failure of input validation.

How it's exploitedMITRE ATT&CK · inferred from weakness & vector
Initial Access
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application
Execution
T1059Command and Scripting Interpreter

Inferred from the weakness type (CWE) and how the flaw is reached — the techniques an attacker would chain to exploit this. Real-world corroboration appears here as threat intel is folded in.

02

Who's exploiting it?

Corroborated threat activity referencing this CVE — with source and confidence, not inference.

Confirmed exploited in the wild. CISA KEV · catalogued Mar 25, 2022

Named threat actors and observed ATT&CK techniques appear here as intel feeds are folded in — the ATT&CK chain above stays inferred until then.

03

Are we affected?

6
  • Affectedcanonical · ubuntu_linux18.04
  • Affectedcanonical · ubuntu_linux19.10
  • Affecteddebian · debian_linux9.0
  • Affecteddebian · debian_linux10.0
  • Affectedfedoraproject · fedora32
  • Affectedopenbsd · opensmtpd6.6
  • 04

    What to do

    Generated by Wavense from the CVE record — an immediate mitigation and the permanent fix.

    1. !

      Mitigate now

      Temporarily restrict direct internet access to the OpenSMTPD service using firewall rules, allowing connections only from trusted internal systems or a secure SMTP gateway. Implement an SMTP proxy or gateway that performs rigorous input validation on all incoming SMTP commands, specifically scrutinizing the MAIL FROM field for shell metacharacters. Enhance logging and monitoring for unusual activity or malformed requests on the SMTP port, such as connections attempting suspicious characters.

    2. ✓

      Permanent fix

      The permanent resolution is to immediately upgrade OpenSMTPD to a patched version, specifically OpenSMTPD 6.6.2p1 or later. For OpenBSD users, ensure the system is updated to a release containing this fix, or manually apply the necessary patches. Verify the upgrade by checking the OpenSMTPD version and confirming the vulnerability is no longer present in the configuration.

    Technical details— weakness, CVSS vector & calculator, related CVEs

    Business impact

    This critical vulnerability allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands as the 'root' user on affected OpenSMTPD instances. Successful exploitation grants complete control over the compromised system, enabling data exfiltration, service disruption, and the deployment of additional malicious payloads. The business consequences include severe data breaches, loss of system integrity, and potential regulatory fines due to a full system compromise.

    Weakness

    2
    CWE-78Common Weakness Enumeration · MITRE definitionCWE-755Common Weakness Enumeration · MITRE definition

    CVSS 3.1 details

    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    0.0
    / 10.0 base
    Critical severity
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Exploitability metrics
    Attack VectorAV
    Remotely exploitable across a network
    Attack ComplexityAC
    No special conditions required
    Privileges RequiredPR
    No authorization needed
    User InteractionUI
    No user participation needed
    Impact metrics
    ScopeS
    Impact confined to the vulnerable component
    ConfidentialityC
    Total loss of confidentiality
    IntegrityI
    Total loss of integrity
    AvailabilityA
    Total loss of availability

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    0.0
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    Critical severity
    Key facts
    CVE ID
    CVE-2020-7247
    Published
    Jan 29, 2020
    Last modified
    Nov 7, 2025
    CVSS
    9.8 (v3.1)
    EPSS
    98.97%
    In CISA KEV
    Yes
    Confidence
    100/100
    Weakness
    CWE-78
    Timeline
    1. Jan 29, 2020Published to NVDNVD
    2. Nov 7, 2025Record last modifiedNVD
    3. Aug 22, 2026AI analysis generatedWavense
    View on NVD