aiosmtplib: STARTTLS response injection

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-55558 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in aiosmtplib: STARTTLS response injection. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps cole/aiosmtplib (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 20, 2026Updated Aug 20, 2026Source checked Aug 20, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 20, 2026Material review Aug 20, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Not reported

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps cole/aiosmtplib (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
cole/aiosmtplibgeneric	< 5.1.2	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for cole/aiosmtplib.
Review the reported fix. Monitor this advisory for an available fix and review any installs of the affected package.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 20, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Aug 20, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 20, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

aiosmtplib is an asynchronous SMTP client for use with asyncio. Prior to 5.1.2, SMTPProtocol.start_tls in src/aiosmtplib/protocol.py consumes the server's 220 response and starts the TLS handshake without clearing SMTPProtocol._buffer. An active network attacker can place attacker-chosen SMTP response lines after the plaintext 220 response in the same network segment. The method then calls loop.start_tls; those bytes survive the transport upgrade and are parsed as the first response from inside the TLS session, desynchronizing subsequent SMTP command and response pairs. Connections using start_tls=True or opportunistic STARTTLS are affected, while connections using use_tls=True are not. This issue is fixed in version 5.1.2.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.