CVE-2021-3181Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Mailbox denial of service via address-parser memory leak

Published Jan 19, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Memory exhaustion in Mutt through 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to make a mailbox unavailable via crafted RFC822 address fields. In rfc822_parse_adrlist(), each semicolon parsed as an empty group terminator without a preceding address allocates an ADDRESS object that is never linked or released. The victim must open a mailbox containing the crafted message; repeated terminators amplify a small message into enough leaked memory to prevent other mail from being displayed.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability2.80%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Memory exhaustion in Mutt through 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to make a mailbox unavailable via crafted RFC822 address fields. In rfc822_parse_adrlist(), each semicolon parsed as an empty group terminator without a preceding address allocates an ADDRESS object that is never linked or released. The victim must open a mailbox containing the crafted message; repeated terminators amplify a small message into enough leaked memory to prevent other mail from being displayed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-3181
Published
Jan 19, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-401
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 19, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo