WaratekVRT Sign in

CVE-2021-40111 Apache James

Affected softwareApache James
Severity6.5 Medium CVSS 3.1 2 scores
Fixed in3.6.1
WeaknessCWE-835
Published4 Jan 2022
Updated17 Jun 2026

Description

In Apache James, while fuzzing with Jazzer the IMAP parsing stack, we discover that crafted APPEND and STATUS IMAP command could be used to trigger infinite loops resulting in expensive CPU computations and OutOfMemory exceptions. This can be used for a Denial Of Service attack. The IMAP user needs to be authenticated to exploit this vulnerability. This affected Apache James prior to version 3.6.1. This vulnerability had been patched in Apache James 3.6.1 and higher. We recommend the upgrade.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. Published 4 years ago.

  • CISA KEV not listed
  • VulnCheck KEV not listed
  • CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
  • Indexed PoC none indexed
  • EPSS 2.2% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

No exploit published

Within Waratek scope. In the sources we check, nobody has published exploit code for this CVE or reported it being exploited.

A public code fix exists.

  • Protection none
  • Action unverified
  • Review automated Upstream data
  • Record active
Decided by Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory
Finding This CVE is MEDIUM severity, is not listed in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV, has no public exploit or PoC in any indexed source, carries no CISA Vulnrichment finding of a demonstrated exploit, and is not part of an Oracle Critical Patch Update. None of the signals that would put it in front of an engineer is present, and the volume of CVEs below that bar is too great to take one at a time, so no rule is written for it. This is a decision about what we act on, not a finding that the CVE is harmless — a patch may well be derivable, and a low-severity defect can still be one link in a longer chain.

CVSS

6.5 MEDIUM v3.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 2 metrics

We show the highest score from the newest CVSS version. Scores from different versions can't be compared, and the first score listed is sometimes a 0.0 placeholder.

VersionScoreBandVectorAssignerType
CVSS 3.1 6.5 MEDIUM CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H NVD Primary published
CVSS 2.0 4.0 none AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P NVD Primary

Affected software and releases

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev
PackageIntroducedFixedLast affected
org.apache.james:james-server 0 3.6.1 unbounded

Products and versions

2 products, 2 version entries
SourceVendorProductSchemeAffected versions
nvd apache james generic < 3.6.1
osv org.apache.james james-server generic < 3.6.1

References

URLTags
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 WEB
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/3 WEB

Timeline

Published2022-01-04By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified2026-06-17NVD's own last-modified date for this record.