Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-40111

In Apache James, while fuzzing with Jazzer the IMAP parsing stack, we discover that crafted APPEND and STATUS IMAP command could be used to trigger infinite loops resulting in expensive CPU computations and OutOfMemory exceptions. This can be used for a Denial Of Service attack. The IMAP user needs to be authenticated to exploit this vulnerability. This affected Apache James prior to version 3.6.1. This vulnerability had been patched in Apache James 3.6.1 and higher. We recommend the upgrade.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from apache organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2022, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2022-01-04T09:15:07.377

Last Modified

2024-11-21T06:23:35.487

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 6.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: SINGLE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.0

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-835

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	apache	james	< 3.6.1	Yes

References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For apache's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.