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.
History

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'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: OX

Published:

Updated: 2026-03-27T12:33:23.863Z

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

Link: CVE-2026-0394

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

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

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

Link: CVE-2026-0394

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.