CVE-2008-2784
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe smtp_filter function in spamdyke before 3.1.8 does not filter RCPT commands after encountering the first DATA command, which allows remote attackers to use the server as an open mail relay by sending RCPT commands with invalid recipients, followed by a DATA command, followed by arbitrary RCPT commands and a second DATA command.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe spamdyke SMTP filter before version 3.1.8 fails to validate RCPT (recipient) commands after the first DATA command in an SMTP session. This logic flaw allows attackers to bypass recipient filtering by sending invalid RCPT commands before DATA, then sending arbitrary RCPT commands after DATA followed by a second DATA command, effectively using the server as an open mail relay.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 3.1.0= 3.1.1= 3.1.2= 3.1.3= 3.1.4= 3.1.5= 3.1.6= 3.1.7CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if spamdyke is installedCheck for the spamdyke binary in common locations such as /usr/bin/spamdyke, /usr/local/bin/spamdyke, or via command: which spamdykeAffected if spamdyke is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply
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Determine the installed spamdyke versionRun spamdyke --version or spamdyke -v to retrieve the version numberAffected if The version is any of these: 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.1.0, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.1.5, 3.1.6, or 3.1.7
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Check if recipient filtering is enabledReview spamdyke configuration files (typically in /etc/spamdyke.conf or /etc/spamdyke.d/) for any rcpt-filter or recipient-validation directivesAffected if Recipient filtering is configured but the spamdyke version falls within the affected range listed above
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Test RCPT command behavior after DATAConnect to the SMTP server protected by spamdyke and attempt to send: HELO test, MAIL FROM:<[email protected]>, RCPT TO:<[email protected]>, DATA, then after DATA send another RCPT TO:<arbitrary>, then issue another DATA commandAffected if The second RCPT command after DATA and the subsequent DATA command are accepted without rejection, indicating the recipient validation is bypassed
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Verify spamdyke is processing SMTP trafficCheck spamdyke logs (typically /var/log/spamdyke or syslog) for entries showing spamdyke is actively processing the SMTP sessionAffected if Spamdyke is active and processing traffic, but the version is in the affected range
The environment is affected if spamdyke version 3.0.0 through 3.1.7 is installed and actively filtering SMTP traffic, as these versions fail to validate RCPT commands sent after the DATA command.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade spamdyke to version 3.1.8 or later, which implements proper RCPT command filtering throughout the entire SMTP session regardless of DATA command state.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2784 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2784 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data