Summary
PHPMailer vulnerable to email header injection
Workarounds
Filter user-supplied values prior to using them in From or Sender properties.
References
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-0796
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open a private issue in the PHPMailer project
Impact
Arbitrary additional email headers can be injected via crafted From or Sender headers.
Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Fixed in 2.2.1
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2012-0796? CVE-2012-0796 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in phpmailer/phpmailer (composer), affecting versions < 2.2.1. It is fixed in 2.2.1. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
- Which versions of phpmailer/phpmailer are affected by CVE-2012-0796? phpmailer/phpmailer (composer) versions < 2.2.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2012-0796? Yes. CVE-2012-0796 is fixed in 2.2.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2012-0796 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2012-0796 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2012-0796 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2012-0796? Upgrade
phpmailer/phpmailerto 2.2.1 or later.