CVE-2021-38502
Mozilla: Downgrade attack on SMTP STARTTLS connections
Severity
ImportantRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.0
Review impact separately from score.
Published · October 6, 2021
Updated · November 22, 2025
Description
Thunderbird ignored the configuration to require STARTTLS security for an SMTP connection. A MITM could perform a downgrade attack to intercept transmitted messages, or could take control of the authenticated session to execute SMTP commands chosen by the MITM. If an unprotected authentication method was configured, the MITM could obtain the authentication credentials, too. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 91.2.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
No mitigation is specified in collected source.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.0 · 7.5CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE-319 · Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information