# CVE-2020-16118: Null dereference in n/a

> A malicious server or man-in-the-middle can crash the Balsa email client by sending a specific IMAP response, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Jul 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2020-16118, GHSA-c2wx-fcx5-8pm2, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-16118, openSUSE-SU-2020:1207-1, openSUSE-SU-2020:1230-1

## What is CVE-2020-16118?

CVE-2020-16118 is a high-severity vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 29 Jul 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In GNOME Balsa before 2.6.0, a malicious server operator or man in the middle can trigger a NULL pointer dereference and client crash by sending a PREAUTH response to imap_mbox_connect in libbalsa/imap/imap-handle.c.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-16118?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `balsa` | SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1 | All versions | 2.5.5-bp151.4.3.1 |
| `balsa` | openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | All versions | 2.5.5-lp151.3.3.1 |

Products: Gnome Balsa, Opensuse Backports Sle, Opensuse Leap.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-16118?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2020-16118 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-16118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Opensuse Backports Sle

- [CVE-2007-5007](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-5007/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-16118 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-16118 is a high-severity vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 29 Jul 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-16118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Opensuse Backports Sle. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16118/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16118/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-16118
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16118
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-16118

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16118/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.