Exploited CVEs / CVE-2016-10033
CVE-2016-10033
PHPMailer Command Injection Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2025-07-28 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. Check the vendor security advisory for the fix.
Our data comes from Microsoft, CISA and other public sources, and it can be wrong or out of date. If you are unsure, check the linked source before you act, and tell us when we are wrong so we can fix it.
Risk summary
Actively exploited PHP PHPMailer vulnerability, Critical severity, CVSS v3 9.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2025-07-07.
Updated July 7, 2025. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2016-10033
PHPMailer, the email library bundled into countless PHP applications, fails to sanitize input to its mail() function, allowing command injection that executes arbitrary code, and CISA confirmed active exploitation on 2025-07-07, a full year ago today and nine years after disclosure. The flaw is Critical (CVSS 9.8) with a 100% EPSS score. Contact forms and password reset emails on old PHP sites are the typical trigger points.
Do this: Audit PHP applications for bundled PHPMailer versions and update the library or the applications that embed it.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2016-10033
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2016-10033
- Published
- 2025-07-07
- Last revised
- 2025-07-07
- Changes tracked
- 1
Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.
- 2025-07-07 added to the CISA KEV catalog by CISA
- 2026-07-17 EPSS first scored at 99.7%
Recorded by Senserva on the dates shown, from CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. This is what moved and when, which neither the vendor advisory nor NVD publishes.
CISA required action
Federal remediation due date: 2025-07-28 (past due).
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Official fix for CVE-2016-10033
Check the vendor's security advisory channel for the patched PHPMailer versions and workarounds.
Common questions about CVE-2016-10033
Is CVE-2016-10033 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2016-10033 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2025-07-07, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 100%.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2016-10033?
CISA set the federal remediation due date at 2025-07-28, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
What fixes CVE-2016-10033?
Check the vendor's security advisory for the patched PHPMailer versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.
Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2016-10033?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2016-10033's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed daily (early morning US Central).
Scope and sources
- More exploited PHP CVEs
- Authoritative references
Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.