Description
maidag in GNU Mailutils before 3.8 is installed setuid and allows local privilege escalation in the url mode.
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 ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | mailutils | 1:3.8-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | mailutils | 1:3.8-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | mailutils | 1:3.8-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | mailutils | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | mailutils | 3.8-8.8 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11035-1 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- GNU Mailutils 3.7 - Privilege Escalation EDB-47703 · local · Nov 21, 2019
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11035-1 libmailutils5-3.8-8.8 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026