CVE-2026-45185
9.8 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2026-45185 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting exim exim. It was published on May 12, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from exim. Update exim to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| exim | exim | >= 4.97, < 4.99.3 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-45185?
CVE-2026-45185 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting exim exim. It was published on May 12, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2026-45185?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-45185?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from exim. Update exim to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-45185?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-45185 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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