Postfix through 3.8.5 allows SMTP smuggling unless configured with smtpd_data_restrictions=reject_unauth_pipelining and smtpd_discard_ehlo_keywords=chunking (or certain other options that exist in recent versions). Remote attackers can use a published exploitation technique to inject e-mail messages with a spoofed MAIL FROM address, allowing bypass of an SPF protection mechanism. This occurs because Postfix supports <LF>.<CR><LF> but some other popular e-mail servers do not. To prevent attack variants (by always disallowing <LF> without <CR>), a different solution is required, such as the smtpd_forbid_bare_newline=yes option with a Postfix minimum version of 3.5.23, 3.6.13, 3.7.9, 3.8.4, or 3.9.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited integrity, for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from postfix, from fedoraproject, from redhat organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2023, 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.
2023-12-24T05:15:08.273
2025-11-04T22:15:56.210
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 5.3 (MEDIUM)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | postfix | postfix | < 3.5.23 | Yes |
| Application | postfix | postfix | < 3.6.13 | Yes |
| Application | postfix | postfix | < 3.7.9 | Yes |
| Application | postfix | postfix | < 3.8.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 38 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 39 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux | 8.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux | 9.0 | Yes |
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 postfix'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.