CVE-2020-7247

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.8 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 99%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

smtp_mailaddr in smtp_session.c in OpenSMTPD 6.6, as used in OpenBSD 6.6 and other products, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands as root via a crafted SMTP session, as demonstrated by shell metacharacters in a MAIL FROM field. This affects the "uncommented" default configuration. The issue exists because of an incorrect return value upon failure of input validation.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(high)
EG Risk
—
EPSS
99.9%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

January 29, 2020

Last Modified

November 7, 2025

Advisory Details (7)

Auto-updated Jun 1, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. Upstream fix merged — awaiting tagged release. Sources: github_commit.
generic

Bugtraq: [SECURITY] [DSA 4611-1] opensmtpd security update

https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/51
generic

[SECURITY] Fedora 32 Update: opensmtpd-6.6.4p1-2.fc32 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OPH4QU4DNVHA7ACFXMYFCEP5PSXXPN4E/
github_commit

commit 9dcfda045474 (openbsd/src)

Fix landed in openbsd/src commit 9dcfda045474 — awaiting tagged release

https://github.com/openbsd/src/commit/9dcfda045474d8903224d175907bfc29761dcb45
generic🟡 PoC Available

oss-security - LPE and RCE in OpenSMTPD (CVE-2020-7247)

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/01/28/3
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: LPE and RCE in OpenSMTPD (CVE-2020-7247)

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Jan/49
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/156249/OpenSMTPD-MAIL-FROM-Remote-Code-Execution.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/156137/OpenBSD-OpenSMTPD-Privilege-Escalation-Code-Execution.html

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntuopensmtpd (6.0.3p1-6ubuntu0.1) @ eoan2026-07-22ubuntu
ubuntuopensmtpd (5.7.3p2-1ubuntu0.1~esm2) @ xenial2026-07-22ubuntu

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.

Weakness Classification(3)

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

All Vendor Advisories

(2)

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 77× in last 7d / 319× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. 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. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 584 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-22 22:41 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 20:32 UTCVendor advisory
  3. 2026-07-22 20:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-22 19:40 UTCCISA KEV update
  5. 2026-07-22 16:30 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-07-22 16:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-22 12:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-07-22 08:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-22 04:25 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-07-22 04:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-22 00:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-21 19:02 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-07-21 19:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-21 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-21 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-21 14:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-21 14:37 UTCCISA KEV update
  18. 2026-07-21 10:58 UTCVendor advisory
  19. 2026-07-21 10:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-21 06:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-21 02:55 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-07-21 02:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-20 22:54 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-07-20 22:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-20 18:53 UTCVendor advisory
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-20 18:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-20 14:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-20 10:50 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-07-20 10:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-20 06:49 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-07-20 06:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-20 02:08 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-07-20 02:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-19 22:06 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-07-19 22:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-19 18:05 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-07-19 18:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-19 14:04 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-07-19 14:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-19 10:03 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-07-19 10:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-19 06:02 UTCVendor advisory
  18. 2026-07-19 06:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-19 02:00 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-07-19 02:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-18 21:59 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-07-18 21:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-18 17:58 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-07-18 17:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-18 13:57 UTCVendor advisory
  26. 2026-07-18 13:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-07-18 09:56 UTCVendor advisory
  28. 2026-07-18 09:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-07-18 05:55 UTCVendor advisory
  30. 2026-07-18 05:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-07-18 01:53 UTCVendor advisory
  32. 2026-07-18 01:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-07-17 21:52 UTCVendor advisory
  34. 2026-07-17 21:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-07-17 17:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-07-17 13:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-07-17 09:48 UTCEG score recompute
  38. 2026-07-17 09:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-07-17 05:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-07-17 01:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-07-16 21:44 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-07-16 21:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-07-16 17:43 UTCVendor advisory
  44. 2026-07-16 17:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  46. 2026-07-16 13:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-07-16 09:40 UTCVendor advisory
  48. 2026-07-16 09:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-07-16 05:39 UTCVendor advisory
  50. 2026-07-16 05:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-07-16 01:38 UTCVendor advisory
  52. 2026-07-16 01:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-07-15 21:37 UTCVendor advisory
  54. 2026-07-15 21:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-07-15 17:35 UTCVendor advisory
  56. 2026-07-15 17:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  58. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  59. 2026-07-15 13:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-07-15 09:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-07-15 05:30 UTCVendor advisory
  62. 2026-07-15 05:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-07-15 01:29 UTCVendor advisory
  64. 2026-07-15 01:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-07-14 21:28 UTCVendor advisory
  66. 2026-07-14 21:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  68. 2026-07-14 17:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-07-14 13:26 UTCVendor advisory
  70. 2026-07-14 13:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-07-14 09:25 UTCVendor advisory
  72. 2026-07-14 09:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-07-14 05:23 UTCVendor advisory
  74. 2026-07-14 05:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-07-14 01:22 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(10 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (7 GitHub PoCs) (3 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCpresentdaypresenttime/shai_hulud
    First seen Feb 7, 2022

    Worm written in python, abuses CVE-2020-7247

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCSimonSchoeni/CVE-2020-7247-POC
    First seen Nov 26, 2021

    Proof of concept for CVE-2020-7247 for educational purposes.

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCf4T1H21/CVE-2020-7247
    First seen Jun 19, 2021

    PoC exploit for CVE-2020-7247 OpenSMTPD 6.4.0 < 6.6.1 Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCQTranspose/CVE-2020-7247-exploit
    First seen Feb 13, 2021

    OpenSMTPD 6.4.0 - 6.6.1 Remote Code Execution PoC exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCr0lh/CVE-2020-7247
    First seen Feb 18, 2020

    Proof Of Concept Exploit for CVE-2020-7247 (Remote Execution on OpenSMTPD < 6.6.2

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCsuperzerosec/cve-2020-7247
    First seen Feb 17, 2020

    OpenSMTPD version 6.6.2 remote code execution exploit

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-48051✓ verified
    First seen Feb 11, 2020

    OpenSMTPD 6.4.0 < 6.6.1 - Local Privilege Escalation + Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-48038✓ verified
    First seen Feb 10, 2020

    OpenSMTPD - MAIL FROM Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-47984✓ verified
    First seen Jan 30, 2020

    OpenSMTPD 6.6.1 - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCFiroSolutions/cve-2020-7247-exploit
    First seen Jan 30, 2020

    Python exploit of cve-2020-7247

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2020-7247?
CVE-2020-7247 is a critical vulnerability published on January 29, 2020. smtpmailaddr in smtpsession.c in OpenSMTPD 6.6, as used in OpenBSD 6.6 and other products, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands as root via a crafted SMTP session, as demonstrated by shell metacharacters in a MAIL FROM field. This affects the "uncommented" default configuration.…
When was CVE-2020-7247 disclosed?
CVE-2020-7247 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on January 29, 2020, with the most recent update on November 7, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2020-7247 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2020-7247 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on March 25, 2022, affecting OpenBSD OpenSMTPD. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7247?
CVE-2020-7247 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2020-7247?
CVE-2020-7247 affects OpenBSD OpenSMTPD. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2020-7247?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2020-7247, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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