CVE-2004-0182 in Mailman
Summary
by MITRE
Mailman before 2.0.13 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an email message with an empty subject field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/29/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-0182 represents a classic denial of service flaw affecting the Mailman mailing list management system prior to version 2.0.13. This issue demonstrates how seemingly benign input processing can lead to system instability and service disruption in email infrastructure components. Mailman, as a widely deployed mailing list manager, serves as a critical component in organizational email communications, making vulnerabilities of this nature particularly concerning from a security operations perspective.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of email messages containing empty subject fields within the Mailman message processing pipeline. When Mailman encounters an email with an empty subject line, the system fails to properly validate or sanitize this input before attempting to process or store the message. This lack of input validation creates a condition where the application crashes or becomes unresponsive, effectively rendering the mailing list service unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the message parsing and storage mechanisms within Mailman's architecture.
From an operational impact standpoint, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to perform denial of service attacks against Mailman installations without requiring authentication or privileged access. The simplicity of exploiting this weakness means that any individual with access to send emails to the affected mailing list could potentially disrupt service for all users. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service and CWE-20 for improper input validation, demonstrating how basic input sanitization failures can create significant operational disruptions in email infrastructure.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is straightforward and accessible, requiring only the ability to send email messages to the targeted mailing list. Attackers can craft and send specially formatted emails with empty subject fields, triggering the crash condition in Mailman's processing logic. This vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Mailman for email list management and could lead to significant business disruption, particularly in environments where mailing lists serve as primary communication channels for important announcements, notifications, or collaborative work processes.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Mailman version 2.0.13 or later, which contains the necessary patches to properly handle empty subject fields. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing input validation mechanisms at the network level or through email gateway solutions to filter out potentially malicious email content before it reaches the Mailman system. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and error handling in email processing systems, aligning with security best practices outlined in standards such as NIST SP 800-160 and ISO 27001. Organizations should also establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual patterns of service disruption that might indicate exploitation attempts, while maintaining regular patch management processes to address similar vulnerabilities in other email infrastructure components.