CVE-2004-0336 in 602pro LAN SUITE
Summary
by MITRE
LAN SUITE Web Mail 602Pro allows remote attackers to gain sensitive information via the mail login form, which contains the path to the mail directory.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0336 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within the LAN SUITE Web Mail 602Pro application. This security weakness specifically manifests in the mail login form component where sensitive directory path information is inadvertently exposed to remote attackers. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and output encoding practices within the web application's authentication interface, creating an avenue for malicious actors to gather system-level information that could aid in subsequent attack vectors.
The technical flaw operates through the web application's failure to sanitize or obscure directory paths within the login form's HTML output. When users navigate to the mail login interface, the application displays a path reference to the mail directory structure, which typically includes server-specific directory names and potentially sensitive organizational information. This exposure occurs because the application does not properly filter or encode the path information before rendering it in the web browser, allowing attackers to capture this data through simple network traffic inspection or page source analysis.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond mere information disclosure, as the exposed directory paths can provide attackers with crucial system architecture insights. An attacker who successfully exploits this weakness can gain knowledge about the underlying file system structure, server configuration, and potentially identify other vulnerable components within the same system. This information can significantly reduce the attack surface and facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as directory traversal, path traversal, or privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses information exposure, and represents a classic example of how seemingly innocuous data exposure can create cascading security risks.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1592 (Gather Victim Host Information). The exposure of mail directory paths provides attackers with foundational knowledge about the system's storage structure, which can be leveraged to craft more targeted attacks. Additionally, this weakness could enable attackers to identify potential backup files, configuration files, or other sensitive data that might be stored in related directories. The vulnerability demonstrates poor security by design principles where sensitive system information should never be exposed through user-facing interfaces without proper access controls or sanitization measures.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding practices within the web application's authentication components. The primary fix involves ensuring that any directory path information displayed in web forms is properly escaped or stripped before rendering to prevent information disclosure. Organizations should also implement comprehensive access controls to restrict unauthorized access to sensitive directory structures and consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter potentially malicious requests. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar information disclosure vulnerabilities across the entire application stack, as this type of weakness often indicates broader architectural security gaps that require systematic remediation approaches.