stalwart: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CVE-2025-59045 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in stalwart from Stalwartlabs, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected stalwart versions: >= 0.12.0, < 0.13.3. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.36% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of stalwart you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stalwartlabs | stalwart | >= 0.12.0, < 0.13.3 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- NoneNo loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- NoneNo loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (github.com).
Official description
Stalwart is a mail and collaboration server. Starting in version 0.12.0 and prior to version 0.13.3, a memory exhaustion vulnerability exists in Stalwart's CalDAV implementation that allows authenticated attackers to cause denial-of-service by triggering unbounded memory consumption through recurring event expansion. An authenticated attacker can crash the Stalwart server by creating recurring events with large payloads and triggering their expansion through CalDAV REPORT requests. A single malicious request expanding 300 events with 1000-character descriptions can consume up to 2 GB of memory. The vulnerability exists in the `ArchivedCalendarEventData.expand` function, which processes CalDAV `REPORT` requests with event expansion. When a client requests recurring events in their expanded form using the `<C:expand>` element, the server stores all expanded event instances in memory without enforcing size limits. Users should upgrade to Stalwart version 0.13.3 or later to receive a fix. If immediate upgrading is not possible, implement memory limits at the container/system level; monitor server memory usage for unusual spikes; consider rate limiting CalDAV REPORT requests; and restrict CalDAV access to trusted users only.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
- Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
More Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerabilities (CWE-770)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in stalwart
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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