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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 30 Jun 2025.
WebmailApplication · Roundcube

CVE-2024-42009

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.5.8 / 1.6.8 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges

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
A Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in Roundcube through 1.5.7 and 1.6.x through 1.6.7 allows a remote attacker to steal and send emails of a victim via a crafted e-mail message that abuses a Desanitization issue in message_body() in program/actions/mail/show.php.

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

A Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Roundcube webmail versions through 1.5.7 and 1.6.x through 1.6.7 allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in a victim's browser via a crafted email message. The vulnerability stems from insufficient desanitization in the message_body() function within program/actions/mail/show.php, enabling attackers to steal and send emails from the victim's account.

MitigationUpgrade Roundcube to version 1.5.8 or 1.6.8 or later to resolve the desanitization issue in message_body(). Review and monitor for any signs of compromise given the critical severity.

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
WebmailApplication
Affected:< 1.5.8>= 1.6.0, < 1.6.8

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

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. Identify Roundcube installation location
    Locate the Roundcube webmail directory on the server. This is typically found in the web server document root (e.g., /var/www/html/roundcube, /usr/share/roundcube, or /home/user/public_html/roundcube). Check your web server configuration to confirm the installation path.
    Affected if The installation directory cannot be located or access is denied.
  2. Determine installed Roundcube version
    Check the VERSION file in the Roundcube root directory by running: cat /path/to/roundcube/VERSION. Alternatively, inspect program/include/bootstrap.php or composer.json for the version string.
    Affected if The version is less than 1.5.8, or greater than or equal to 1.6.0 but less than 1.6.8.
  3. Verify the vulnerable message_body function
    Inspect the file program/actions/mail/show.php in the Roundcube installation. Search for the message_body function definition. Check if it processes email content without applying proper sanitization (specifically, verify if htmlspecialchars() or equivalent sanitization is missing around user-controlled email content).
    Affected if The message_body function exists and processes email content without sanitization, and the installed version falls within the affected range.
  4. Confirm mail viewing is enabled
    Log into Roundcube as an administrator and navigate to Settings > Server Settings, or check the config file config/main.inc.php (or config/config.inc.php) for the 'preview_pane' or 'html_handling' settings. The vulnerability affects any user who can view email messages.
    Affected if Mail viewing functionality is enabled (default configuration).

You are affected if your installed Roundcube version is less than 1.5.8, or >= 1.6.0 but less than 1.6.8, and the message_body() function processes email content without sanitization.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.5.8 / 1.6.8 or later
Fixed in 1.5.81.6.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Roundcube to version 1.5.8 or 1.6.8 or later to resolve the desanitization issue in message_body(). Review and monitor for any signs of compromise given the critical severity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Roundcube Webmail 1.5.8 or 1.6.8 (whichever branch you're on)

  1. 1. Back up your current Roundcube installation and database before proceeding
  2. 2. Download the fixed version (1.5.8 for the 1.5.x branch or 1.6.8 for the 1.6.x branch) from the official Roundcube repository at roundcube.net/download
  3. 3. Extract the new version to a temporary directory
  4. 4. Replace the existing Roundcube files with the new version, preserving your configuration (config/db.inc.php, config/config.inc.php, and any custom plugins)
  5. 5. Update your database schema if required by running the update script: bin/update.sh --version=<new version>
  6. 6. Clear Roundcube cache by removing contents of the temp/ and cache/ directories
  7. 7. Verify the installation by logging in and testing email display functionality
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically maintain backward compatibility; review release notes for any configuration changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Webmail Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

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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-2024-42009 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