CVE-2026-40685

Medium
6.5
0.05.010.0
Year
2026
Published
Apr 30, 2026
Known Affected Devices
0
CVSS Score
6.5

What is CVE-2026-40685?

In Exim before 4.99.2, when JSON lookup is enabled, an out-of-bounds heap write can occur when a JSON operator encounters malformed JSON in an untrusted header, because of an incorrect implementation of \ skipping.

CVSS Vector Breakdown

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
AV
Attack Vector
Network

Exploitable remotely over the network without requiring access to the local system.

AC
Attack Complexity
High

Exploit requires specific conditions, timing, or configuration to succeed.

PR
Privileges Required
None

No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.

UI
User Interaction
None

No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.

S
Scope
Unchanged

Exploiting the vulnerability only affects the vulnerable component itself.

C
Confidentiality Impact
None

No confidentiality impact. Sensitive data is not exposed.

I
Integrity Impact
Low

Attacker can modify some data, but scope or consequence is limited.

A
Availability Impact
High

Complete denial of service. The component becomes fully unavailable.

FAQ

How severe is CVE-2026-40685?

CVE-2026-40685 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10, rated as Medium. Review the affected products list and apply vendor patches.

What does the CVSS score mean for CVE-2026-40685?

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2026-40685 scores 6.5/10 (Medium). Scores 9.0–10.0 are Critical, 7.0–8.9 are High, 4.0–6.9 are Medium, and below 4.0 are Low.

Which devices are affected by CVE-2026-40685?

The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2026-40685 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.

How do I fix or mitigate CVE-2026-40685?

Apply the latest firmware or software update from the vendor. Check the References section above for official advisories and patch notes. If no patch is available, consider disabling the affected feature or isolating the device from untrusted networks.