SpamassassinApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-1931
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 · uneditedA command execution issue was found in Apache SpamAssassin prior to 3.4.3. Carefully crafted nefarious Configuration (.cf) files can be configured to run system commands similar to CVE-2018-11805. This issue is less stealthy and attempts to exploit the issue will throw warnings. Thanks to Damian Lukowski at credativ for reporting the issue ethically. With this bug unpatched, exploits can be injected in a number of scenarios though doing so remotely is difficult. In addition to upgrading to SA 3.4.4, we again recommend that users should only use update channels or 3rd party .cf files from trusted places.
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 confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in Apache SpamAssassin prior to version 3.4.3 allows execution of arbitrary system commands through malicious configuration (.cf) files. This issue is related to CVE-2018-11805 but is less stealthy as exploitation attempts produce warning messages.
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
< 3.4.3CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed SpamAssassin versionRun 'spamassassin --version' or check the version via your package manager (dpkg, rpm, yum)Affected if The version number is less than 3.4.3 (for example, 3.4.2, 3.4.1, etc.)
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Identify loaded .cf configuration filesRun 'spamassassin -D -p /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cf 2>&1 | grep -i cf' or inspect /etc/mail/spamassassin/ and /var/lib/spamassassin/ directories for .cf filesAffected if Multiple .cf files from various sources are loaded, especially from third-party or untrusted repositories
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Check for untrusted third-party .cf filesReview all .cf file paths for content originating from non-organizational sources, repositories, or unknown authorsAffected if Any .cf files from untrusted or unknown sources are present in the configuration load path
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Inspect logs for command execution warningsSearch mail logs and SpamAssassin debug/output logs for patterns like 'Attempt to execute command' or 'runas' warningsAffected if Warning messages containing 'Attempt to execute' or similar command execution alerts appear in logs
You are affected if SpamAssassin version is below 3.4.3 AND untrusted or third-party .cf configuration files are being loaded.
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 data3.4.3
Upgrade to Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.4 or later and ensure only configuration files from trusted sources are used; review existing third-party .cf files for legitimacy.
Fix this in Spamassassin
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,904.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1931 — 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-2020-1931 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