Ubuntu Fixes SA-Exim Greylisting Rule Evaluation
Tech GuruQuick Answer
Update SA-Exim on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and restrict write access to SpamAssassin configuration and rules.
Confirm Scope And Apply The Supported Remediation
What to do now: Inventory Ubuntu suite, installed sa-exim packages, repository origin, active consumers and owners. Match the installed suite and package to the official notice; assess upstream or bundled copies separately. Install the listed security packages through the supported Ubuntu repositories. Confirm required Ubuntu Pro, ESM or Legacy Support entitlements for older suites. Check package versions, configuration permissions, message acceptance and greylisting behavior; retain mail and change records.
Last verified: 2026-11-13 UTC. Recheck the authoritative advisory and supported distribution channel before changing production.
Scope And Authority
| Product scope | SA-Exim SpamAssassin integration on the Ubuntu releases listed in USN-9086-1 |
|---|---|
| Advisory | USN-9086-1 |
| CVE | CVE-2019-19920 |
| Authoritative release date | 2026-11-12 — November 12, 2026 at 20:54:57 UTC, from the official Ubuntu security feed; the notice gives the same date. |
| Authority revision date | No separate revision date is provided by the authority. |
| Affected versions | Ubuntu sa-exim packages on the suites listed in the fixed-version table, before their respective security updates. Applicability is package-, feature- and suite-specific. |
| Fixed version | 18.04 LTS: sa-exim 4.2.1-16ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
| CVSS base score | Not provided by the authority |
| CVSS severity | Not provided by the authority |
| Exploitation status | The Ubuntu notice does not confirm exploitation in the wild.; no exploitation claim is inferred. |
What Changed
An actor able to write SpamAssassin rules or configuration may execute code through unsafe greylisting-parameter evaluation.
What To Validate Now
- Inventory. Inventory Ubuntu suite, installed sa-exim packages, repository origin, active consumers and owners.
- Establish applicability. Match the installed suite and package to the official notice; assess upstream or bundled copies separately.
- Remediate. Install the listed security packages through the supported Ubuntu repositories. Confirm required Ubuntu Pro, ESM or Legacy Support entitlements for older suites.
- Validate. Check package versions, configuration permissions, message acceptance and greylisting behavior; retain mail and change records.
- Retain evidence. Preserve asset and owner identifiers, the applicability decision, before-and-after versions, change approval, installation output, validation results, and any exception or rollback record.
Operational Cautions
The advisory requires configuration or rule write access; do not describe arbitrary incoming mail alone as sufficient.
Evidence To Retain
- Exact product, release stream, package or application version, enabled feature, environment, and accountable owner.
- UTC timestamps, authority revision, approved change record, installer or package-manager output, and resulting version.
- Relevant logs and monitoring evidence, test results, exceptions, compensating controls, and rollback decisions.
Related TechGeeks Resources
Authoritative References
Correction policy: If the authority changes affected versions, fixed versions, severity, exploitation information, mitigations, or required action, TechGeeks will update this notice and its verification date.
