vulnerability / NVI-00007499 / Revision 1
Remote code execution in PHPMailer
OSV carries this publisher advisory for phpmailer/phpmailer. This is an aggregated source copy; consult the original publisher and compare update dates.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
phpmailer/phpmailer
source listedECOSYSTEM: introduced 5.0.0; fixed 5.2.20
### Impact The `isMail` transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.20 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the `mail` command and consequently execute arbitrary code by leveraging improper interaction between the `escapeshellarg` function and internal escaping performed in the mail function in PHP. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incorrect fix for CVE-2016-10033. This issue really emphasises that it's worth avoiding the built-in PHP `mail()` function entirely. ### Patches Fixed in 5.2.20 ### Workarounds Send via SMTP to localhost instead of calling the `mail()` function. ### References https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10045 See also https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10033 ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open a private issue in the PHPMailer project
03 / Response
What to do next
- vendor patch
The original advisory lists fixed boundaries 5.2.20 for phpmailer/phpmailer. Confirm the publisher’s latest guidance.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database via OSV
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-4pc3-96mx-wwc8 ↗
GitHub Advisory Database via OSV · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub-origin advisory, CC-BY-4.0; OSV is an aggregate copy, not independent corroboration.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.