When dovecot has been configured to use per-domain passwd files, and they are placed one path component above /etc, or slash has been added to allowed characters, path traversal can happen if the domain component is directory partial. This allows inadvertently reading /etc/passwd (or some other path which ends with passwd). If this file contains passwords, it can be used to authenticate wrongly, or if this is userdb, it can unexpectly make system users appear valid users. Upgrade to fixed version, or use different authentication scheme that does not rely on paths. Alternatively you can also ensure that the per-domain passwd files are in some other location, such as /etc/dovecot/auth/%d. No publicly available exploits are known.

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4556-1 dovecot security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6197-1 dovecot security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6197-3 dovecot regression update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8136-1 Dovecot vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8136-2 Dovecot regression
Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Dovecot
Dovecot dovecot
Open-xchange dovecot
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:dovecot:dovecot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:open-xchange:dovecot:*:*:*:*:pro:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Dovecot
Dovecot dovecot
Open-xchange dovecot

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Open-xchange
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Pro
Vendors & Products Open-xchange
Open-xchange ox Dovecot Pro

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 17:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Path Traversal via Per‑Domain Password Files in Open‑Xchange Dovecot dovecot: Dovecot: Information disclosure and authentication bypass via path traversal
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Path Traversal via Per‑Domain Password Files in Open‑Xchange Dovecot

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description When dovecot has been configured to use per-domain passwd files, and they are placed one path component above /etc, or slash has been added to allowed characters, path traversal can happen if the domain component is directory partial. This allows inadvertently reading /etc/passwd (or some other path which ends with passwd). If this file contains passwords, it can be used to authenticate wrongly, or if this is userdb, it can unexpectly make system users appear valid users. Upgrade to fixed version, or use different authentication scheme that does not rely on paths. Alternatively you can also ensure that the per-domain passwd files are in some other location, such as /etc/dovecot/auth/%d. No publicly available exploits are known.
Weaknesses CWE-22
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: OX

Published:

Updated: 2026-03-27T19:41:17.447Z

Reserved: 2025-11-28T09:18:02.607Z

Link: CVE-2026-0394

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-03-27T19:41:13.207Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-03-27T09:16:19.283

Modified: 2026-04-29T19:40:46.587

Link: CVE-2026-0394

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-03-27T08:10:17Z

Links: CVE-2026-0394 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-03-30T07:02:16Z

Weaknesses