CVE-2016-10045

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2020-03-05. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekWeaponized

Also known asEUVD-2020-0327 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-4pc3-96mx-wwc8 (GitHub Security Advisories)Source: ENISA EUVD

9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixRemediate within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • 300 internet-facing services (distinct ip:port) on record running an affected version — derived from Shodan data (© Shodan); a patched service can stay counted while its port stays open
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 98%
  • Public exploit code is available (Metasploit, other public proof-of-concept code)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 98%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: Metasploit · other public PoCExposed services: 300

A fix is available — apply it.

The isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.20 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code by leveraging improper interaction between the escapeshellarg function and internal escaping performed in the mail function in PHP. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incorrect fix for CVE-2016-10033.

Internet exposure · derived from Shodan data

300 internet-facing services (distinct ip:port) on record running a version that maps to CVE-2016-10045, in our KEV-Exposure radar’s Shodan-derived sample.

across 34 countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Singapore)top: wordpress
See the KEV-Exposure radar →Derived from Shodan data. Shodan data is owned by Shodan, which holds its copyright (© Shodan). EchelonGraph claims no ownership of it or copyright in it. Aggregate, host-redacted.

How it counts: every 12 hours, when Shodan query credits allow, the radar runs one Shodan query per tracked product, reads up to 100 ip:port services per query, and keeps a service when its banner version matches a CISA-KEV or high-EPSS CVE; a service is dropped when neither a search nor a Shodan InternetDB port re-check has refreshed it for 21 days. A re-check that finds the port still listed by Shodan InternetDB refreshes the service without re-reading the banner, so a patched service can stay counted while its port stays open. A count is a banner-version inference over a sample, not an exploit test and not an internet-wide census, and the unit is a service, not a machine: a machine answering on two ports counts twice.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8CRITICALmedium confidence
EG Risk
83
EG Risk 83/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity98% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 9.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation98% × 40%
FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's BOD 26-04 default: no one has published Automatable for this CVE, and CISA treats it as “no” for a CVE not in KEV.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.
Exploitation public PoC (exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
EPSS PROB
98%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
Not listed

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (9.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.

EG Severity
9.8 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
EG Likelihood
98% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-31). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Track* at medium mission impactTrack at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.

Exploitation public PoC (exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.

The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). Where an input reads “CISA's BOD 26-04 default”, no one has published it for this CVE, and CISA's implementation guidance says: “If “Automatable” and “Technical Impact” information items about a CVE ID are not available and the CVE ID is not in the KEV Catalog, CISA will treat its values as “no” and “total,” respectively, until CISA or a third party provides metadata about the CVE ID. CISA will always provide the Vulnrichment data for a CVE ID listed in the KEV Catalog.” Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

December 30, 2016

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (10)

Auto-updated Oct 7, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_release.
GitHub release Patch Available

PHPMailer 5.2.20

Patch available: PHPMailer/PHPMailer v5.2.20

https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.20
Web page

CVE-2016-10045 - PSIRT.COM

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95130
Web page

PHPMailer Sendmail Argument Injection | Metasploit Module

http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/phpmailer_arg_injection
Web pageMentions a patch (unverified)

Full Disclosure: PHPMailer < 5.2.20 Remote Code Execution PoC 0day Exploit (CVE-2016-10045) (Bypass of the CVE-2016-1033 patch)

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Dec/81
Web page

oss-security - Re: PHPMailer < 5.2.18 Remote Code Execution [updated advisory] [CVE-2016-10033]

http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/28/1

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibphp-phpmailer (5.2.14+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1) @ xenial2026-11-01ubuntu
composerphpmailer/phpmailer @ 5.2.20 (fixes >= 5.0.0, < 5.2.20)—ghsa

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(5 across 5 ecosystems)
Alpine:v3.2(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
php-phpmailer—
  • every version up to 5.2.4-r0: fixed in 5.2.4-r0
—
Alpine:v3.3(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
php-phpmailer—
  • every version up to 5.2.4-r0: fixed in 5.2.4-r0
—
Alpine:v3.4(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
php5-phpmailer—
  • every version up to 5.2.0-r1: fixed in 5.2.0-r1
—
Alpine:v3.5(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
php5-phpmailer—
  • every version up to 5.2.4-r1: fixed in 5.2.4-r1
—
Packagist(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
phpmailer/phpmailerv5.2.10 ... v5.2.9 (17 versions)
  • 5.0.0 up to 5.2.20: fixed in 5.2.20
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(1)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 15× in last 7d / 46× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 91 of 99 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 9 repeat rows among the latest 100 are merged into the row they repeat. The 8 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-11-01 11:19 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-11-01 11:19 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4pc3-96mx-wwc8 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.8
  3. 2026-11-01 08:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4pc3-96mx-wwc8 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.8
  4. 2026-11-01 08:48 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-31 12:57 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-10-30 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  7. 2026-10-30 14:35 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-10-30 14:35 UTCVendor advisory
  9. 2026-10-29 16:13 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-10-28 17:49 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-10-28 17:49 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-10-27 19:27 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-10-27 19:27 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-10-26 21:05 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-10-26 21:05 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-10-25 20:38 UTCVendor advisory
  17. 2026-10-25 19:50 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-10-25 16:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  19. 2026-10-24 22:16 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-10-24 22:16 UTCVendor advisory
  21. 2026-10-23 23:53 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-10-23 23:53 UTCVendor advisory
  23. 2026-10-23 16:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  24. 2026-10-23 01:29 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-10-23 01:29 UTCVendor advisory
Show 66 more
  1. 2026-10-22 02:39 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-21 04:13 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-10-21 04:13 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-10-20 05:46 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-19 07:22 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-10-19 07:22 UTCVendor advisory
  7. 2026-10-18 08:58 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-10-17 10:34 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-17 10:34 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-10-16 12:07 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-10-16 12:07 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-10-15 16:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  13. 2026-10-15 13:33 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-10-14 08:34 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-10-13 03:46 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-10-12 20:46 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-12 01:10 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-10-11 13:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  19. 2026-10-10 19:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  20. 2026-10-06 15:11 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  21. 2026-10-04 11:30 UTCOSV refresh
  22. 2026-09-30 09:09 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-09-26 15:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  24. 2026-09-19 15:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  25. 2026-09-17 19:21 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  26. 2026-09-15 03:05 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  27. 2026-09-15 01:14 UTCOSV refresh
  28. 2026-09-10 09:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  29. 2026-09-06 13:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  30. 2026-08-27 01:00 UTCOSV refresh
  31. 2026-08-26 14:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  32. 2026-08-19 16:59 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  33. 2026-08-16 02:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  34. 2026-08-15 01:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  35. 2026-08-10 14:38 UTCOSV refresh
  36. 2026-08-08 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  37. 2026-08-06 13:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  38. 2026-08-05 19:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  39. 2026-07-30 01:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  40. 2026-07-28 15:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  41. 2026-07-25 15:30 UTCOSV refresh
  42. 2026-07-24 14:13 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  43. 2026-07-23 01:21 UTCEG score recompute
  44. 2026-07-23 00:22 UTCEG score recompute
  45. 2026-07-22 22:00 UTCEG score recompute
  46. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  47. 2026-07-09 19:05 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  48. 2026-07-08 10:05 UTCOSV refresh
  49. 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  50. 2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  51. 2026-06-19 22:06 UTCOSV refresh
  52. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 98% · 99th percentile
  53. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  54. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  55. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  56. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  57. 2026-05-31 01:25 UTCOSV refresh
  58. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  59. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  60. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  61. 2026-05-21 22:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 93% · 99th percentile
  62. 2026-05-20 10:17 UTCVendor advisory
  63. 2026-05-20 06:39 UTCVendor advisory
  64. 2026-05-20 03:01 UTCVendor advisory
  65. 2026-05-19 23:23 UTCVendor advisory
  66. 2026-05-19 19:44 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(4 references)

Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 3 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly.

  • Metasploitexploit/multi/http/phpmailer_arg_injection✓ verified
    Published Jan 3, 2017

    PHPMailer Sendmail Argument Injection

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-42221
    Published Jun 21, 2017

    PHPMailer < 5.2.20 with Exim MTA - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-40986
    Published Jan 2, 2017

    PHPMailer < 5.2.20 / SwiftMailer < 5.4.5-DEV / Zend Framework / zend-mail < 2.4.11 - 'AIO' 'PwnScriptum' Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-40969
    Published Dec 27, 2016

    PHPMailer < 5.2.20 - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2016-10045?
CVE-2016-10045 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on December 30, 2016. The isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.20 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code by leveraging improper interaction between the escapeshellarg function and internal escaping performed in the mail function in PHP. NOTE:…
When was CVE-2016-10045 made public?
CVE-2016-10045 was made public on December 27, 2016: that is the date its CVE record's CNA, MITRE Corporation, gives for when the vulnerability was made public. The CVE record itself was published on December 30, 2016. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of June 17, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2016-10045 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-10045 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EchelonGraph's EG-KEV model places it in Tier 2 (Weaponized), which is not evidence of exploitation: a Metasploit module exists for it. EchelonGraph does not test whether exploit code works. FIRST EPSS estimates a 98% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (99th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-10045?
CVE-2016-10045 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2016-10045?
A fix for CVE-2016-10045 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2016-10045

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2016-10045?

EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.