emacsclient-mail.desktop in Emacs 28.1 through 28.2 is vulnerable to shell command injections through a crafted mailto: URI. This is related to lack of compliance with the Desktop Entry Specification. It is fixed in 29.0.90
CVE-2023-27985
Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2023-03-09. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8; sources differ by 2.0.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 9.8(medium)
- EG Risk
- 45(Track)EG Risk 45/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity98% × 45%Exploitation1% × 40%Automatability0% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS PROB
- 1%
- EPSS %ILE
- 63%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
March 9, 2023
Last Modified
March 5, 2025
References (10)
- cve@mitrehttp://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/commit/?h=emacs-29&id=d32091199ae5de590a83f1542a01d75fba000467
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/03/09/1
- cve@mitrehttps://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=60204
- cve@mitrehttps://www.gabriel.urdhr.fr/2023/06/08/emacsclient-mail-shell-elisp-injections/
- cve@mitrehttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/03/08/2
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/commit/?h=emacs-29&id=d32091199ae5de590a83f1542a01d75fba000467
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/03/09/1
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=60204
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.gabriel.urdhr.fr/2023/06/08/emacsclient-mail-shell-elisp-injections/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/03/08/2
Affected Packages
(3 across 3 ecosystems)
Debian:12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| emacs | — | 1:28.2+1-13 | — |
Debian:13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| emacs | — | 1:28.2+1-13 | — |
Debian:14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| emacs | — | 1:28.2+1-13 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
All Vendor Advisories
(1)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 29× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 164 total refreshes for this CVE.
- 2026-09-08 21:57 UTCEPSS rescore
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Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)
Same vendor
10 shownmsrc
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-78
- CVE-2009-20011EG 10.0CRITICAL
- CVE-2011-10017EG 10.0CRITICAL
- CVE-2012-1166EG 10.0EPSS p91HIGH
- CVE-2012-2976EG 10.0EPSS p92HIGH
- CVE-2012-2953EG 10.0EPSS p99HIGH
- CVE-2011-4502EG 10.0EPSS p92HIGH
- CVE-2011-2148EG 10.0EPSS p92HIGH
- CVE-2011-0382EG 10.0EPSS p90HIGH
- CVE-2011-0381EG 10.0EPSS p92HIGH
- CVE-2011-0372EG 10.0HIGH
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2023-27985?
When was CVE-2023-27985 disclosed?
Is CVE-2023-27985 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-27985?
How do I remediate CVE-2023-27985?
Dependency Blast Radius
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