CVE-2002-1839 in Interscan Viruswall
Summary
by MITRE
Trend Micro InterScan VirusWall for Windows NT 3.52 does not record the sender s IP address in the headers for a mail message when it is passed from VirusWall to the MTA, which allows remote attackers to hide the origin of the message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1839 affects Trend Micro InterScan VirusWall version 3.52 running on Windows NT 3.52 systems, representing a significant security flaw in email filtering and monitoring capabilities. This issue stems from the software's failure to properly maintain email header information during the virus scanning process, specifically when messages are forwarded from the antivirus protection layer to the Mail Transfer Agent. The flaw creates a critical gap in email forensics and security auditing mechanisms, as the original sender's IP address information is stripped from the message headers during the scanning process. This behavior fundamentally undermines the integrity of email logging and tracking capabilities that organizations rely upon for security incident response, compliance monitoring, and threat analysis activities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability resides in the improper handling of email message headers within the InterScan VirusWall application architecture. When an email message passes through the virus scanning process, the software fails to preserve or properly forward the sender's IP address information that would normally be included in the email headers. This creates a situation where any malicious actor can exploit this weakness to obscure their true origin when sending spam, phishing attempts, or other malicious emails through systems protected by this version of InterScan VirusWall. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-200, which describes improper handling of sensitive information, and represents a specific case of information exposure through header manipulation. From an operational perspective, this flaw enables attackers to bypass detection mechanisms that depend on sender IP address correlation and reputation-based filtering systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privacy concerns to create substantial security risks for organizations relying on InterScan VirusWall for email protection. Security administrators lose the ability to accurately trace the source of malicious emails, making incident response and forensic analysis significantly more challenging. The vulnerability enables attackers to conduct phishing campaigns, spam distribution, and other malicious activities without revealing their true IP addresses, effectively providing a layer of anonymity that undermines the security posture of affected organizations. Network security monitoring systems that depend on email header information for threat detection and analysis become substantially less effective when this information is stripped from messages. This weakness particularly impacts organizations that implement reputation-based email filtering, where sender IP address information is crucial for determining message legitimacy and identifying potential threats.
Organizations affected by CVE-2002-1839 should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to a newer version of InterScan VirusWall that properly handles email headers, implementing additional email security measures such as DKIM and DMARC validation, and establishing enhanced monitoring procedures to detect anomalous email patterns. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining proper email header integrity as outlined in email security standards and best practices. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability enables techniques such as T1566 for social engineering and T1071 for application layer protocol usage, as attackers can more effectively mask their activities. Organizations should also consider implementing email authentication mechanisms and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar header manipulation vulnerabilities in their email infrastructure. The flaw demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining header information integrity in security applications and the potential consequences when such information is improperly handled during security processing operations.