Description
Format string vulnerability in the movemail utility in (1) Emacs 20.x, 21.3, and possibly other versions, and (2) XEmacs 21.4 and earlier, allows remote malicious POP3 servers to execute arbitrary code via crafted packets.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 4 | emacs +4 | 21.3-19.EL.1 | RHSA-2005:110 |
| RHEL 4 | xemacs +4 | 21.4.15-10.EL.1 | RHSA-2005:133 |
| RHEL 3 | emacs +2 | 21.3-4.1 | RHSA-2005:112 |
| RHEL 3 | xemacs +2 | 21.4.13-8.ent.1 | RHSA-2005:134 |
Advisories 7
- RHSA-2005:134 Red Hat Security Advisory: xemacs security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2005:133 Red Hat Security Advisory: xemacs security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2005:110 Red Hat Security Advisory: emacs security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2005:112 Red Hat Security Advisory: emacs security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-685-1 emacs21 - format string Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-670-1 emacs20 - format string Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-671-1 xemacs21 - format string Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9408 vdb-entry signature
- DSA-671 vendor-advisory
- FLSA-2006:152898 vendor-advisory
- DSA-670 vendor-advisory
- 20050207 [USN-76-1] Emacs vulnerability mailing-list
- RHSA-2005:110 vendor-advisory
- DSA-685 vendor-advisory
- xemacs-movemail-format-string(19246) vdb-entry
- RHSA-2005:133 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2005:112 vendor-advisory
- 12462 vdb-entry
- MDKSA-2005:038 vendor-advisory