Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Exploitation is reported, but no independent confirmation is available in the sources we have. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

No. CVE-2026-42167 is not listed in CISA KEV in the supplied enrichment data. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

Is there a public exploit?

12 public PoC repositories reported; 2 marked weaponized in current dataset. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with web/proxy/WAF logs, application logs, network IDS/IPS, database audit logs where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2026-42167 using CVSS 8.1, EPSS 7%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

The supplied mitigation guidance says to apply vendor patches and restrict external exposure until fixed. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

No public threat actor linkage is confirmed from current sources. Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

highInjectionpublic exploit

CVE-2026-42167

CVE-2026-42167 — mod_sql in ProFTPD before 1.3.9a allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a username, in scenarios where there is logging of…

Q: What is CVE-2026-42167?

CVE-2026-42167 is mod_sql in ProFTPD before 1.3.9a allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a username, in scenarios where there is logging of…. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Injection mapped to CWE-89 SQL Injection.

mod_sql in ProFTPD before 1.3.9a allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a username, in scenarios where there is logging of USER requests with an expansion such as %U, and the SQL backend allows commands (e.g., COPY TO PROGRAM).

Published Apr 28, 2026Updated Jul 24, 2026Sources: NVD, ProFTPD (CNA), Exploit-DB, Red Hat (VEX), SOCRadar CTI

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Reported

not confirmed by CISA

EPSS

ahead of 94% of scored CVEs

Affects

ProFTPD

CVSS base

8.1

high

CISA SSVC assessment

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

CISA

Exploitation

PoC

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade ProFTPD to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

Red Hat VEX · CVE-2026-42167

fixed0affected0not affected1

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
ProFTPD	ProFTPD	1.3.7b to < 1.3.9a	Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Availability

High

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Scope

Unchanged

Attack Complexity

High

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

None

User Interaction

None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
8.1	CVSS 3.1	high	2.2	5.9	MITRE (CNA), ProFTPD (CNA), Red Hat (VEX)

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What this weakness leads to

MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.

MITRE

CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

Read Application Data
Bypass Protection Mechanism
Modify Application Data

Mitigation: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using persistence layers such as Hibernate or Enterprise Java Beans, which can provide significant protection against SQL injection if used properly.

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-89SQL Injection

Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.

CAPEC-470 · Expanding Control over the Operating System from the DatabaseCAPEC-109 · Object Relational Mapping InjectionCAPEC-110 · SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter TamperingCAPEC-7 · Blind SQL InjectionCAPEC-108 · Command Line Execution through SQL InjectionCAPEC-66 · SQL Injection

Public exploit

Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.

Repositories

2 of the 5 sampled are weaponized

Exploit entries

Exploit-DB and CTI exploit indexes

Social mentions

Posts naming this CVE. Attention, not evidence of exploitation — it spikes on disclosure and decays whether or not anything is exploited.

11 more posts on this CVEShowing 5 of 16 · Who is discussing this CVE, and how loudlyUnlock free

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable ProFTPD.
Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 12 public PoC repositories were reported.

web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPSdatabase audit logs

Groups associated with this CVE

Groups reported in connection with this vulnerability. A reported association, not a confirmed observation of that group using it — and not scoped to any sector or campaign.

hostnameleonardomarras.it78
Maltiverse Domain List · Aug 14, 2026
hostnamesmt-group.lt78
Maltiverse Domain List · Aug 14, 2026
hostnamekindercoaching-reutlingen.de81
Maltiverse Domain List · Aug 28, 2026
ip64.64.3.10749
AbuseIPDB Hourly Update · Jun 26, 2026
ip78.153.218.3325
SOCRadar Threat Exchange Services · Oct 14, 2020

5 more indicators on this CVEShowing 5 of 10 · Hashes, addresses and domains from a live threat exchangeUnlock free

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Cve is exploited CVE-2026-42167 - ProFTPD mod_sql post-authentication SQLi - RCE
Aug 26, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Added · remote entry: CVE-2026-42167 - ProFTPD mod_sql post-authentication SQLi - RCE
Aug 25, 2026 · Exploit-DB
Added · CVSS 3.1 8.1 (AV:N)
Jul 24, 2026 · NVD
Cve is exploited efeanilarslan/CVE-2026-42167-Exploit
May 2, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited jimmexploit/CVE-2026-42167-PoC
May 2, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited Sl4cK0TH/CVE-2026-42167-PoC
May 1, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Initial · CVE published
Apr 28, 2026 · NVD

Source activity

Readings a source repeats on a schedule, counted rather than listed.

20×SVRS was changedMay 1, 2026 – Jun 3, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
7×TweetsMay 1, 2026 – Aug 15, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
4×Github ReposMay 1, 2026 – May 4, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
3×TelegramMay 2, 2026 – May 5, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
2×ModifiedMay 1, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI

References

10 on the record

www.proftpd.org/docs/RELEASE_NOTES-1.3.10rc1
Release Notes, NIST
github.com/ZeroPathAI/proftpd-CVE-2026-42167-poc
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, GITHUB, NIST
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/issues/2052
Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, NIST
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/4
Mailing List, NIST
zeropath.com/blog/proftpd-cve-2026-42167-auth-bypass-privesc-rce
Exploit, Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory, NIST, GITHUB
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/13
Mailing List, NIST
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/4
Mailing List, NIST
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/52658
Vendor Advisory

Coverage

10 stories from the feeds we poll

5 more reports on this CVEShowing 5 of 10 · Vendor research and security press coverageUnlock free

Elsewhere on this site

ProFTPDevery CVE for this vendor
Injectionsame class
CWE-89other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

Only the 5 indicator(s) reported for this CVE are available; no packet-level or host-forensic artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-42167 is mod_sql in ProFTPD before 1.3.9a allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a username, in scenarios where there is logging of…, a high vulnerability affecting ProFTPD from ProFTPD. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Exploitation is reported, but no independent confirmation is available in the sources we have. Public exploit evidence is: 12 public PoC repositories reported; 2 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity, while EPSS 7% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.