CVE-2002-2325 in Pine
Summary
by MITRE
The c-client library in Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) dated before 2002 RC2, as used by Pine 4.20 through 4.44, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client crash) via a MIME-encoded email with Content-Type header containing an empty boundary field.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-2325 represents a classic buffer overflow condition within the c-client library implementation of the Internet Message Access Protocol IMAP. This flaw specifically affects email client software that relies on the c-client library for handling IMAP communications, including the widely used Pine email client versions 4.20 through 4.44. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the MIME parsing functionality, where the library fails to properly handle malformed Content-Type headers containing empty boundary fields. This particular weakness falls under the CWE-121 category of stack-based buffer overflow conditions, where insufficient boundary checks allow attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations through carefully crafted malicious email content.
The technical execution of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts a specially formatted email message containing a Content-Type header with an empty boundary parameter. When the affected c-client library processes this malformed message, it attempts to parse the boundary field without proper validation, leading to memory corruption that ultimately results in client application termination. The flaw is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered simply by receiving an email message, requiring no user interaction beyond opening the message. This makes it a prime candidate for automated exploitation in spam campaigns or targeted attacks where adversaries seek to disrupt email services or compromise user productivity.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on email clients that depend on the vulnerable c-client library. The denial of service condition effectively prevents users from accessing their email accounts through affected clients, potentially disrupting business communications and requiring manual intervention to restore normal operations. The vulnerability affects a substantial portion of email clients from the early 2000s, particularly impacting users of Pine email clients who were common in academic and enterprise environments. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires minimal technical expertise to execute and can be delivered through standard email protocols without requiring authentication or privileged access to network infrastructure.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including updating to patched versions of the c-client library and Pine email client software, as the vulnerability was addressed in c-client library releases following 2002 RC2. Network administrators should consider implementing email filtering rules to detect and quarantine messages containing malformed Content-Type headers, though this approach may not be comprehensive given the potential for variant attack vectors. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in network protocols and highlights the critical need for regular security updates in email infrastructure components. From a security framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for network denial of service and represents a common pattern of insufficient boundary checking that has been documented across numerous email and messaging systems throughout the history of network communications.