# CVE-2023-42119: Exim dnsdb Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability

> Network-adjacent attackers can disclose sensitive information via an out-of-bounds read in Exim's dnsdb component without authentication.

- **Severity:** Low 3.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 May 2024
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2025-DX69052, CLSA-2023-1699468134, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-42119, GHSA-hpcw-47wp-rc8h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-42119

## What is CVE-2023-42119?

CVE-2023-42119 is a low-severity vulnerability in Exim Exim, published on 3 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Exim dnsdb Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the service account.
. Was ZDI-CAN-17643.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-42119?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Exim Exim.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-42119?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-42119 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-42119 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Exim Exim

- [CVE-2026-45185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45185/): Use after free in Exim (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-42115](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42115/): Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-28017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28017/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-28018](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28018/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-28020](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28020/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-42119 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-42119 is a low-severity vulnerability in Exim Exim, published on 3 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-42119 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Exim Exim. 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-2023-42119/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42119/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42119
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-42119
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-42119

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42119/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.