# CVE-2021-20617: Command injection in acmailer and acmailer DB

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary OS commands or gain administrative privileges in acmailer, leading to potential server compromise.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6456-hr4p-p4pq

## What is CVE-2021-20617?

CVE-2021-20617 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Seeds Co.,Ltd. acmailer and acmailer DB, published on 14 Jan 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper access control vulnerability in acmailer ver. 4.0.1 and earlier, and acmailer DB ver. 1.1.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute an arbitrary OS command, or gain an administrative privilege which may result in obtaining the sensitive information on the server via unspecified vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-20617?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Acmailer Acmailer, Acmailer Acmailer Db.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-20617?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-20617 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-20617 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-20617 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Acmailer - Improper Access Control to OS Command Injection (nuclei): http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-20617.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Seeds Co.,Ltd. acmailer and acmailer DB

- [CVE-2021-20618](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20618/): Privilege escalation in acmailer and acmailer DB (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-20617 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-20617 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Seeds Co.,Ltd. acmailer and acmailer DB, published on 14 Jan 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-20617 exists.

Affected product: Seeds Co.,Ltd. acmailer and acmailer DB. 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-2021-20617/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20617/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-20617
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-20617
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-20617

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20617/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.