CVE-2026-126135

Published Nov 10, 2026 Modified Nov 10, 2026

Description

If an attacker was able to perform a man-in-the-middle attack on an SMTP or POP3 server connection using STARTTLS, the attacker could inject server responses before the TLS handshake completed. Thunderbird would process these responses after the handshake, as if they had been received from the server over the encrypted connection. This could be used to make Thunderbird report a different outcome for sending or fetching mail, and to show attacker-controlled text in error messages. The encrypted connection itself was not compromised, and credentials were not exposed. Connections using SSL/TLS instead of STARTTLS were not affected. This vulnerability was fixed in Thunderbird 160 and Thunderbird 153.7.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2026-126135?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-126135? +
If an attacker was able to perform a man-in-the-middle attack on an SMTP or POP3 server connection using STARTTLS, the attacker could inject server responses before the TLS handshake completed. Thunderbird would process these responses after the handshake, as if they had been received from the server over the encrypted connection. This could be used to make Thunderbird report a different outcome for sending or fetching mail, and to show attacker-controlled text in error messages. The encrypted connection itself was not compromised, and credentials were not exposed. Connections using SSL/TLS instead of STARTTLS were not affected. This vulnerability was fixed in Thunderbird 160 and Thunderbird 153.7.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-126135? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Don't wait for an exploit

Scan your website for vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-126135 — free, no signup required.

Patch on a server you control

Spin up a fresh, up-to-date VPS to test or deploy the fix.

Compare VPS prices →

Affiliate links: we may earn a commission, your price stays the same.