CVE-2004-0412 in Mailman
Summary
by MITRE
Mailman before 2.1.5 allows remote attackers to obtain user passwords via a crafted email request to the Mailman server.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0412 represents a critical security flaw in the Mailman mailing list management software that existed prior to version 2.1.5. This vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure, where remote attackers could exploit a weakness in the email processing mechanism to extract user passwords from the system. The flaw specifically manifests when Mailman processes specially crafted email requests that manipulate the server's handling of password-related information, potentially exposing sensitive authentication data to unauthorized parties.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and improper handling of email requests within the Mailman software architecture. When a malicious user sends a crafted email containing specific parameters or headers, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate the input before processing password-related operations. This lack of proper validation creates an opportunity for attackers to manipulate the server's response to include password information in the email communication. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the protocol level where email requests are processed, making it accessible to anyone who can send emails to the Mailman server.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on Mailman for their mailing list management. The exposure of user passwords through this attack vector could lead to unauthorized access to mailing list administrative functions, potential account takeovers, and broader system compromise. Attackers could leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized access to sensitive mailing list information, potentially affecting thousands of users depending on the size of the mailing list. The impact extends beyond simple password exposure as it could enable further attacks such as privilege escalation or data exfiltration from the compromised system.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to Mailman version 2.1.5 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Network-level protections such as email filtering rules that block suspicious email patterns and monitoring of email traffic for anomalous requests can provide additional layers of defense. Security configurations should be reviewed to ensure that password information is not inadvertently exposed in email responses, and access controls should be strengthened to limit the attack surface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential access through social engineering and email-based attacks. The remediation process should also include comprehensive testing to verify that the patch has effectively addressed the vulnerability without introducing new issues in the mail server functionality.