Authenticated imapd crash via nested SEARCH recursion
Published Jul 29, 2026 · Updated Jul 29, 2026
Uncontrolled recursion in Courier IMAP before 6.0.1 and Courier Mail Server before 2.0.2 allows remote authenticated users to crash imapd. The alloc_search_key function recursively parses parenthesized SEARCH groups through alloc_search_andlist and alloc_search_notkey without a depth limit. Any valid IMAP account can trigger a SIGSEGV with roughly 2,500 nested parentheses, interrupting the imapd service without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled recursion in Courier IMAP before 6.0.1 and Courier Mail Server before 2.0.2 allows remote authenticated users to crash imapd. The alloc_search_key function recursively parses parenthesized SEARCH groups through alloc_search_andlist and alloc_search_notkey without a depth limit. Any valid IMAP account can trigger a SIGSEGV with roughly 2,500 nested parentheses, interrupting the imapd service without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-67194
- Published
- Jul 29, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 29, 2026
- Vendor
- Sam Varshavchik
- Product
- Courier IMAP
- Classifications
- CWE-674, CAPEC-231, CAPEC-230, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 29, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 29, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <6.0.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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