CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-1930 — A command execution issue was found in Apache SpamAssassin prior to 3.4.3

High CVSS 9.3

A command execution issue was found in Apache SpamAssassin prior to 3.4.3. Carefully crafted nefarious rule configuration (.cf) files can be configured to run system commands similar to CVE-2018-11805. With this bug unpatched, exploits can be injected in a number of scenarios including the same privileges as spamd is run which may be elevated though doing so remotely is difficult. In addition to upgrading to SA 3.4.4, we again recommend that users should only use update channels or 3rd party .cf files from trusted places. If you cannot upgrade, do not use 3rd party rulesets, do not use sa-compile and do not run spamd as an account with elevated privileges.

Severity
High
CVSS
9.3 (2.0)
Published
2020-01-30
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-78

Affected products

  • apache / spamassassin

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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