CVE-2025-43857

moderate-risk
Published 2025-04-28

Net::IMAP implements Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) client functionality in Ruby. Prior to versions 0.5.7, 0.4.20, 0.3.9, and 0.2.5, there is a possibility for denial of service by memory exhaustion when net-imap reads server responses. At any time while the client is connected, a malicious server can send can send a "literal" byte count, which is automatically read by the client's receiver thread. The response reader immediately allocates memory for the number of bytes indicated by the server response. This should not be an issue when securely connecting to trusted IMAP servers that are well-behaved. It can affect insecure connections and buggy, untrusted, or compromised servers (for example, connecting to a user supplied hostname). This issue has been patched in versions 0.5.7, 0.4.20, 0.3.9, and 0.2.5.

Do I need to act?

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0.53% chance of exploitation
EPSS score — low exploit probability
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Not on CISA KEV list
No confirmed active exploitation reported to CISA
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Patch status unknown
Check vendor advisories for fix availability and mitigation guidance
6
CVSS 6.5/10 Medium
NETWORK / LOW complexity

Affected Products (1)

Net\

Affected Vendors

31
/ 100
moderate-risk
Severity 24/34 · High
Exploitability 2/34 · Minimal
Exposure 5/34 · Minimal