CVE-2026-0394

March 27, 2026, 9:16 a.m.

5.3
Medium

Description

When dovecot has been configured to use per-domain passwd files, and they are placed one path component above /etc, or slash has been added to allowed characters, path traversal can happen if the domain component is directory partial. This allows inadvertently reading /etc/passwd (or some other path which ends with passwd). If this file contains passwords, it can be used to authenticate wrongly, or if this is userdb, it can unexpectly make system users appear valid users. Upgrade to fixed version, or use different authentication scheme that does not rely on paths. Alternatively you can also ensure that the per-domain passwd files are in some other location, such as /etc/dovecot/auth/%d. No publicly available exploits are known.

Product(s) Impacted

Vendor Product Versions
Dovecot
  • Dovecot
  • *

Weaknesses

Common security weaknesses mapped to this vulnerability.

CWE-22
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

*CPE(s)

Affected systems and software identified for this CVE.

Type Vendor Product Version Update Edition Language Software Edition Target Software Target Hardware Other Information
a dovecot dovecot / / / / / / / /

CVSS Score

5.3 / 10

CVSS Data - 3.1

  • Attack Vector: NETWORK
  • Attack Complexity: LOW
  • Privileges Required: NONE
  • Scope: UNCHANGED
  • Confidentiality Impact: LOW
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: NONE
  • CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

    View Vector String

Timeline

Published: March 27, 2026, 9:16 a.m.
Last Modified: March 27, 2026, 9:16 a.m.

Status : Received

CVE has been recently published to the CVE List and has been received by the NVD.

More info

*Disclaimer: Some vulnerabilities do not have an associated CPE. To enhance the data, we use AI to infer CPEs based on CVE details. This is an automated process and might not always be accurate.