CVE-2026-0394 Path traversal in OX Dovecot Pro
Path traversal in Dovecot allows reading /etc/passwd when using per-domain files in specific locations, potentially enabling unauthorized authentication.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-0394?
CVE-2026-0394 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Dovecot Dovecot, published on 27 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
When dovecot has been configured to use per-domain passwd files, and they are placed one path component above /etc, or slash has been added to allowed characters, path traversal can happen if the domain component is directory partial. This allows inadvertently reading /etc/passwd (or some other path which ends with passwd). If this file contains passwords, it can be used to authenticate wrongly, or if this is userdb, it can unexpectly make system users appear valid users. Upgrade to fixed version, or use different authentication scheme that does not rely on paths. Alternatively you can also ensure that the per-domain passwd files are in some other location, such as /etc/dovecot/auth/%d. No publicly available exploits are known.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-0394?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Dovecot Dovecot, Open-Xchange Dovecot.
How do I fix CVE-2026-0394?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-0394 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0394 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Dovecot Dovecot
Sources
Also known as AZL-81695, CLSA-2026-1787230282, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-0394, GHSA-xmp7-q4wc-cq3x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-0394, USN-8136-2.