How severe is CVE-2022-28220?

CVE-2022-28220 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-28220?

CVE-2022-28220 affects the following packages: org.apache.james:james-server (Maven), org.apache.james:james-server (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2022-28220?

Update org.apache.james:james-server to 3.6.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-28220 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-28220 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.james:james-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-28220 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2022-28220?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-28220 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2022-28220 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-28220 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-28220?

CVE-2022-28220 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.7%, placing it in the 74th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was CVE-2022-28220 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-28220 was published on September 8, 2022 and was last updated on March 14, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2022-28220: Apache James vulnerable to buffering attack (Hi…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk74th percentile-7.47%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

2 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.james:james-server☕org.apache.james:james-server

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.james:james-server`	all versions	3.6.3
☕Maven	`org.apache.james:james-server`	≥ 3.7.0&&< 3.7.1	3.7.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.james:james-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.james:james-server to 3.6.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-28220 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-28220 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2022-28220. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2022-28220 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2022-28220 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2022-28220