CVE-2026-40014
Description
A flaw was found in Dovecot. A remote attacker, by sending a specially crafted email message header to a user, can cause the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) THREAD command to consume excessive CPU resources. When a mail client processes this message, it can lead to degradation or a denial of service for the IMAP server.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, administrators should monitor Dovecot processes for abnormal CPU usage. If high CPU consumption is observed, identify and terminate the offending Dovecot process. Subsequently, remove the malicious email from the affected mailbox to prevent re-triggering the vulnerability. Restarting the Dovecot service may be required after process termination, which could temporarily impact mail service availability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | N/A | 6.5 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
Frequently Asked Questions
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