CVE-2006-1251: Argument injection vulnerability in greylistclean.cron in sa-exim 4.2 allows remote attackers to delete arbitr

Routine

MEDIUM 5.0DOWNGRADE

CVE-2006-1251 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.0) affecting sa-exim. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Argument injection vulnerability in greylistclean.cron in sa-exim 4.2 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via an email with a To field that contains a filename separated by whitespace, which is not quoted when greylistclean.cron provides the argument to the rm command.

Why this priority

No elevated risk signals yet

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.0 (Medium)
EPSS exploit chance	1.5% (top 25%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-94
Published	2006-03-19
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: sa-exim

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2006-03-19 01:02 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 22:22 UTCUpdated Record last modified

sa-exim sa-exim DOWNGRADE

Affected: 4.0 · 4.1 · 4.2

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 4.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy sa-exim || rpm -q sa-exim || sa-exim --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 4.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison sa-exim sudo apt install sa-exim=<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0> sudo apt-mark hold sa-exim

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list sa-exim sudo dnf downgrade sa-exim-<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0> sudo dnf versionlock add sa-exim

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2006-1251?

sa-exim: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2006-1251 being exploited?

CVE-2006-1251 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2006-1251 affect?

CVE-2006-1251 affects sa-exim. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.0). Argument injection vulnerability in greylistclean.cron in sa-exim 4.2 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via an email with a To field that contains a filename separated by whitespace, which is not quoted when greylistclean.cr

How urgent is CVE-2006-1251?

Priority 36/100. No elevated risk signals yet.

Software pages

Exim vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2019-19920 HIGH 8.8 DOWNGRADE MITIGATE sa-exim 4.2.1 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code if they can write a .cf file or a rule

References

← Back to latest CVEs