CVE-2023-36632Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Processing interruption via recursive address parsing

Published Jun 25, 2023 · Updated Nov 27, 2024

Uncontrolled recursion in Python through 3.11.4 allows attackers to raise RecursionError by passing crafted address text to parseaddr. The legacy email.utils.parseaddr path repeatedly calls _AddressList.getaddress when colon-heavy malformed input fails to advance parsing state. Reachability depends on an application passing untrusted address text into the legacy API; an unhandled exception interrupts the calling operation, while CPython maintainers dispute that this behavior is a vulnerability.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.58%
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

Uncontrolled recursion in Python through 3.11.4 allows attackers to raise RecursionError by passing crafted address text to parseaddr. The legacy email.utils.parseaddr path repeatedly calls _AddressList.getaddress when colon-heavy malformed input fails to advance parsing state. Reachability depends on an application passing untrusted address text into the legacy API; an unhandled exception interrupts the calling operation, while CPython maintainers dispute that this behavior is a vulnerability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-36632
Published
Jun 25, 2023
Updated
Nov 27, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-674, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 25, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 27, 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

7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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-674Uncontrolled Recursion
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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