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SpamassassinApplication · Apache

CVE-2019-12420

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.4.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Apache SpamAssassin before 3.4.3, a message can be crafted in a way to use excessive resources. Upgrading to SA 3.4.3 as soon as possible is the recommended fix but details will not be shared publicly.

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 confidence

Apache SpamAssassin before version 3.4.3 allows attackers to craft messages that consume excessive server resources, causing denial of service through resource exhaustion.

MitigationUpgrade Apache SpamAssassin to version 3.4.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
SpamassassinApplication
Affected:< 3.4.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0

CVSS 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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if SpamAssassin is installed
    Run `spamassassin --version` or `sa-learn --version` to see the installed version number
    Affected if The command fails (SpamAssassin not installed) or shows a version lower than 3.4.3
  2. Check Debian package version
    Run `dpkg -l | grep -i spamassassin` to list installed SpamAssassin packages and their version numbers
    Affected if The displayed version is earlier than 3.4.3
  3. Verify SpamAssassin daemon is running
    Run `systemctl status spamd` or check for spamd processes with `ps aux | grep spamd`
    Affected if SpamAssassin daemon (spamd) is actively running and processing mail
  4. Check if MTA integrates with SpamAssassin
    Examine MTA configuration (e.g., for Postfix: `postconf | grep content_filter`, for Sendmail: check `.mc` file) to see if mail is routed through SpamAssassin
    Affected if The mail server is configured to filter messages through SpamAssassin
  5. Identify SpamAssassin rule files in use
    Check SpamAssassin configuration in `/etc/mail/spamassassin/` or `/etc/spamassassin/` for local rules and `user_prefs` file
    Affected if Custom rules are loaded that could interact with crafted messages

You are affected if SpamAssassin is installed and actively processing mail while version is earlier than 3.4.3

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.4.3 or later
Fixed in 3.4.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache SpamAssassin to version 3.4.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Fix this in Spamassassin Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-12420 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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