CVE-2010-4345

Confirmed PUBLISHED

Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate...

Exim · Exim

Exploited in the wild PoC available

Recommended Action

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

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Confidence

Confirmed

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Observed in Sensors

Attempts (30d)

—

Unique Attacker IPs

—

CISA KEV

In CISA KEV

CVSS / EPSS

7.8 High

At a Glance

Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the ability of the exim user account to specify an alternate configuration file with a directive that contains arbitrary commands, as demonstrated by the spool_directory directive.

metasploit cisa

CVE Published: Dec 14, 2010
Exploitation Reported: Mar 25, 2022
CVSS: 7.8 High
EPSS: —

Low complexity No user interaction

Affected Versions

Vendor	Product	Version	Status
n/a	n/a	n/a	Affected

CVE References

SUSE-SA:2010:059 lists.opensuse.org · Vendor Advisory http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-12/msg00003...
RHSA-2011:0153 redhat.com · Vendor Advisory http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0153.html
DSA-2154 debian.org · Vendor Advisory http://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2154
USN-1060-1 ubuntu.com · Vendor Advisory http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1060-1
DSA-2131 debian.org · Vendor Advisory http://www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2131

Show 23 more references

43128 secunia.com · Third-Party Advisory http://secunia.com/advisories/43128
VU#758489 kb.cert.org · Third-Party Advisory http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/758489
42930 secunia.com · Third-Party Advisory http://secunia.com/advisories/42930
42576 secunia.com · Third-Party Advisory http://secunia.com/advisories/42576
43243 secunia.com · Third-Party Advisory http://secunia.com/advisories/43243
ADV-2011-0364 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0364
45341 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45341
1024859 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024859
ADV-2011-0245 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0245
ADV-2011-0135 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0135
ADV-2010-3204 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3204
ADV-2010-3171 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/3171
[exim-dev] 20101209 Re: [Exim-maintainers] Remote root vulnerability in Exim lists.exim.org · Mailing List http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101209.172233.abcba158.en.html
[exim-dev] 20101207 Remote root vulnerability in Exim exim.org · Mailing List http://www.exim.org/lurker/message/20101207.215955.bb32d4f2.en.html
[exim-dev] 20101210 Re: Remote root vulnerability in Exim lists.exim.org · Mailing List http://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20101210.164935.385e04d0.en.html
20101213 Exim security issue in historical release securityfocus.com · Mailing List http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/515172/100/0/threaded
[oss-security] 20101210 Exim remote root openwall.com · Mailing List http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/10/1
[oss-security] 20210504 21Nails: Multiple vulnerabilities in Exim openwall.com · Mailing List http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi bugzilla.redhat.com · CVE Record https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=662012
metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format metasploit.com · CVE Record http://www.metasploit.com/modules/exploit/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format
theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril theregister.co.uk · CVE Record http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/11/exim_code_execution_peril/
bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi bugs.exim.org · CVE Record http://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1044
cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html cpanel.net · CVE Record http://www.cpanel.net/2010/12/critical-exim-security-update.html

Recommended Actions

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.

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Source	Added
CISA First	2022-03-25 00:00 UTC

Scanner Artifacts

Nuclei and Metasploit references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format.rb	Apr 28, 2025

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.8 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 6.9 Medium

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Recorded 2022-03-25 00:00:00 UTC · CISA

Proof of concept available

Recorded 2025-04-28 15:02:31 UTC

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-77

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')

Scanner Integrations

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/unix/smtp/exim4_string_format.rb	Apr 28, 2025

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

exim4_string_format

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2010-4345

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API

Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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Pro API Example

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2010-4345

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2010-4345",
  "title": "Exim 4.72 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the...",
  "affected_vendor": "Exim",
  "affected_product": "Exim",
  "affected_versions": [
    { "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
  ],
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.8,
  "epss_score": null,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
  "proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
  "scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}

The free JSON API returns basic KEV fields only. Confidence, telemetry, and artifact enrichment require Pro API access.

CVE-2010-4345

At a Glance

Affected Versions

CVE References

Recommended Actions

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Scanner Artifacts

Virtual Patch

CVSS Scores

Exploitation Status

Weaknesses (CWE)

Scanner Integrations

Potential Proof of Concepts

Timeline

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API