CVE-2023-51764

MEDIUM

Postfix < 3.5.23 - SMTP Smuggling via Bare Newline Injection

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 4 public exploits for CVE-2023-51764. PoCs published by duy-31, eeenvik1, d4op.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This is a working proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2023-51764, demonstrating SMTP smuggling in Postfix. It leverages the vulnerability to send multiple spoofed emails within a single legitimate email, bypassing SPF/DKIM/DMARC checks for the nested emails.

Description

Postfix through 3.8.5 allows SMTP smuggling unless configured with smtpd_data_restrictions=reject_unauth_pipelining and smtpd_discard_ehlo_keywords=chunking (or certain other options that exist in recent versions). Remote attackers can use a published exploitation technique to inject e-mail messages with a spoofed MAIL FROM address, allowing bypass of an SPF protection mechanism. This occurs because Postfix supports <LF>.<CR><LF> but some other popular e-mail servers do not. To prevent attack variants (by always disallowing <LF> without <CR>), a different solution is required, such as the smtpd_forbid_bare_newline=yes option with a Postfix minimum version of 3.5.23, 3.6.13, 3.7.9, 3.8.4, or 3.9.

Exploits (4)

nomisec WORKING POC 22 stars
by duy-31 · poc
https://github.com/duy-31/CVE-2023-51764

This is a working proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2023-51764, demonstrating SMTP smuggling in Postfix. It leverages the vulnerability to send multiple spoofed emails within a single legitimate email, bypassing SPF/DKIM/DMARC checks for the nested emails.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Postfix (SMTP server)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Valid sender email domain with SPF/DKIM/DMARC records · Access to a vulnerable Postfix SMTP server · Expect tool installed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by eeenvik1 · poc
https://github.com/eeenvik1/CVE-2023-51764

The repository contains two Python scripts demonstrating SMTP smuggling (CVE-2023-51764) by exploiting Postfix's handling of SMTP commands. The scripts send emails with spoofed sender addresses via ports 25 and 465, leveraging improper command injection in the email body.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Postfix (SMTP server)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid SMTP server credentials · Access to SMTP server on port 25 or 465
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by d4op · poc
https://github.com/d4op/CVE-2023-51764-POC

This PoC demonstrates SMTP smuggling (CVE-2023-51764) by exploiting improper handling of SMTP commands to spoof emails. It sends multiple emails with forged sender addresses by manipulating the SMTP protocol flow.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: SMTP servers vulnerable to SMTP smuggling
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to vulnerable SMTP server · SMTP server that mishandles command sequences
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Double-q1015 · poc
https://github.com/Double-q1015/CVE-2023-51764

This PoC exploits CVE-2023-51764, an SMTP authentication bypass vulnerability, by sending crafted AUTH PLAIN commands to spoof sender/recipient emails. It uses an Expect script to automate the interaction with the SMTP server.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: 163 SMTP server (smtp.163.com)
Auth required
Prerequisites: SMTP server access · valid authentication credentials
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (19)

Core 19
Core References
Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2255563
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/duy-31/CVE-2023-51764
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/eeenvik1/CVE-2023-51764
Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
https://www.postfix.org/smtp-smuggling.html
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/24/1
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/25/1

Scores

CVSS v3 5.3
EPSS 0.0260
EPSS Percentile 83.3%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Details

CWE
CWE-345
Status published
Products (5)
fedoraproject/fedora 38
fedoraproject/fedora 39
postfix/postfix < 3.5.23
redhat/enterprise_linux 8.0
redhat/enterprise_linux 9.0
Published Dec 24, 2023
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026