CVE-2025-59419
Netty netty-codec-smtp SMTP Command Injection Vulnerability Allowing Email Forgery
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
io.netty:netty-codec-smtp☕io.netty:netty-codec-smtpReal-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
Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. In versions prior to 4.1.128.Final and 4.2.7.Final, the SMTP codec in Netty contains an SMTP command injection vulnerability due to insufficient input validation for Carriage Return (\r) and Line Feed (\n) characters in user-supplied parameters. The vulnerability exists in io.netty.handler.codec.smtp.DefaultSmtpRequest, where parameters are directly concatenated into the SMTP command string without sanitization. When methods such as SmtpRequests.rcpt(recipient) are called with a malicious string containing CRLF sequences, attackers can inject arbitrary SMTP commands. Because the injected commands are sent from the server's trusted IP address, resulting emails will likely pass SPF and DKIM authentication checks, making them appear legitimate. This allows remote attackers who can control SMTP command parameters (such as email recipients) to forge arbitrary emails from the trusted server, potentially impersonating executives and forging high-stakes corporate communications. This issue has been patched in versions 4.1.129.Final and 4.2.8.Final. No known workarounds exist.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | io.netty:netty-codec-smtp | ≥ 4.2.0.Alpha1&&< 4.2.7.Final | 4.2.7.Final |
| ☕Maven | io.netty:netty-codec-smtp | all versions | 4.1.128.Final |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for io.netty:netty-codec-smtp. 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 io.netty:netty-codec-smtp to 4.2.7.Final or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-59419 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-2025-59419 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-2025-59419. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-59419 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2025-59419 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.