CVE-2026-55558

aiosmtplib: STARTTLS response injection

MEDIUM
5.9
CVSS Score
Published: August 20, 2026 at 02:29 PM UTC
Updated: October 18, 2026 at 08:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorAiosmtplib

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Severity
MEDIUM5.9
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 5.1.2
Affected range stops below 5.1.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

5.9MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-74

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