CVE-2002-1320 in Pine
Summary
by MITRE
Pine 4.44 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (core dump and failed restart) via an email message with a From header that contains a large number of quotation marks (").
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1320 affects Pine email client versions 4.44 and earlier, presenting a significant denial of service risk that can compromise system availability. This weakness stems from inadequate input validation within the email parsing mechanism, specifically when processing the From header field of incoming messages. The vulnerability operates by exploiting the client's failure to properly handle malformed email headers containing an excessive number of quotation marks, creating a condition that leads to system instability and potential service disruption.
The technical flaw manifests in Pine's handling of email header parsing where the application does not implement proper bounds checking or input sanitization for the From header field. When a maliciously crafted email message contains a large number of consecutive quotation marks within the From header, the pine client's parsing routine becomes overwhelmed and enters a state where it generates a core dump file before failing to restart properly. This behavior represents a classic buffer over-read vulnerability that falls under the category of improper input validation, which is categorized as CWE-20 in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it operates at the application layer and requires no authentication or special privileges to exploit, making it accessible to remote attackers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption, as it can lead to complete system unavailability for users relying on the affected Pine client. When the core dump is generated and the application fails to restart, legitimate users experience extended downtime while system administrators must manually intervene to restore service. This denial of service condition can be particularly damaging in environments where email availability is critical for business operations, potentially disrupting communication channels and requiring immediate incident response procedures. The vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of proper error handling and resource management in email client applications, as the failure to gracefully handle malformed input results in cascading system failures.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-1320 should focus on immediate patch application to upgrade to Pine versions that address the input validation flaw, as well as implementing email filtering mechanisms that can detect and block messages containing suspicious header patterns. Network administrators should consider deploying email security appliances or gateway solutions that can sanitize incoming messages before they reach end-user clients, thereby preventing the exploitation of this vulnerability at the network boundary. Additionally, system hardening measures including restricted file system permissions for core dump generation and automated restart procedures can help minimize the impact of successful exploitation attempts. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the 'Execution' and 'Persistence' domains, as it can be used to establish persistent availability issues and potentially serve as a foothold for further exploitation attempts. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions that can detect unusual core dump generation patterns and automated restart failures that may indicate exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities.