CVE-2026-55558
aiosmtplib is an asynchronous SMTP client for use with asyncio. Prior to 5.1.2, SMTPProtocol.start_tls in src/aiosmtplib/protocol.py consumes the server's 220 response and starts the TLS handshake without clearing SMTPProtocol._buffer. An active network attacker can place attacker-chosen SMTP response lines after the plaintext 220 response in the same network segment. The method then calls loop.start_tls; those bytes survive the transport upgrade and are parsed as the first response from inside the TLS session, desynchronizing subsequent SMTP command and response pairs. Connections using start_tls=True or opportunistic STARTTLS are affected, while connections using use_tls=True are not. This issue is fixed in version 5.1.2.
What this means for your business
- An attacker can use it remotely, over a network, without a login, and without anyone at your company clicking anything.
- FIRST's prediction model gives it a 0.3% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 18% of all known flaws.
What to do
- 1Ask your IT team or provider whether any of your systems use the affected product.
- 2If you do, follow the vendor's guidance. No patch reference has been published yet.
Not sure if your company is exposed?
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Scoring
- CVSS
- 5.9 (v3.1)
- Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N- Weakness
- CWE-74
- Assigned by
- security-advisories@github.com
Dates
- Published
- 2026-08-20
- Last modified
- 2026-09-18
- Sources
- NVD