Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in hMailServer
Published Oct 8, 2026 · Updated Nov 3, 2026
Original summary
Normalized public record · Updated Nov 3, 2026
Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in hMailServer
Publisher and source text is retained separately from QFinch interpretation.
QFinch assessment
Inefficient complexity in the Sieve filter evaluation of Progressive Robot hMailServer 6.2.24 through 6.3.5 allows an authenticated account holder to make the mail services unavailable with their own filter. A ':matches' pattern was matched by a backtracking descent whose time grew with the matched value's length raised to the number of wildcards, so a pattern such as '*a*a*a*b' over 800 characters took 44 seconds; and 'deleteheader' erased the fields it removed one at a time, so removing many fields of one name over a message's header cost O(N^2) (80,000 fields took 18.8 seconds). Sieve filters run on the small, shared delivery thread pool, so an account holder whose active script does this, fed a few messages they can send themselves, empties the pool and stops delivery for the whole server. The script is the account holder's own and cannot be set for another user.
Evidence: public source recordsAffected products
| Affected package, product or range | Fix status |
|---|---|
| Consult the referenced vendor advisory for affected versions. | Consult source advisory |
Matching a version is only one part of assessing exposure. QFinch has not assessed your environment on this public page.
Remediation
Apply the vendor-supported fixed release or mitigation, then verify the affected component is no longer reachable.
- Confirm the affected product and reachable code path exist in your environment.
- Apply the vendor-supported patch or mitigation from the primary advisory.
- Rescan the exact deployed revision and retain verification evidence.
Evidence coverage
- SSVC priority
- LOW
- Confidence
- Not available
- Aliases
- None reported
Scores appear only when corresponding evidence exists. Missing data is never interpreted as zero risk.
Sources and record history
Record history
Published Oct 8, 2026 · Last refreshed Nov 3, 2026