CVE-2004-1211 in Mercury
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple buffer overflows in the IMAP service in Mercury/32 4.01a allow remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via long arguments to the (1) EXAMINE, (2) SUBSCRIBE, (3) STATUS, (4) APPEND, (5) CHECK, (6) CLOSE, (7) EXPUNGE, (8) FETCH, (9) RENAME, (10) DELETE, (11) LIST, (12) SEARCH, (13) CREATE, or (14) UNSUBSCRIBE commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1211 represents a critical security flaw in the Mercury/32 mail server software version 4.01a, specifically affecting its IMAP service implementation. This vulnerability stems from multiple buffer overflow conditions that occur when processing user-supplied input data through various IMAP commands, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors. The affected commands include fundamental IMAP operations such as EXAMINE, SUBSCRIBE, STATUS, APPEND, CHECK, CLOSE, EXPUNGE, FETCH, RENAME, DELETE, LIST, SEARCH, CREATE, and UNSUBSCRIBE, making this a comprehensive flaw across the IMAP protocol implementation. The vulnerability's classification as a buffer overflow directly aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an authenticated user account, which significantly reduces the attack vector complexity but does not eliminate the potential for serious consequences. When remote authenticated users submit overly long arguments to any of the listed IMAP commands, the application fails to properly validate input lengths, leading to memory corruption that can result in application crashes or potentially arbitrary code execution. The buffer overflow conditions manifest as stack corruption or heap corruption depending on the specific command and input length, creating unpredictable behavior that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or persistent access. The attack follows a classic remote code execution pattern where input validation failures in network services create opportunities for memory corruption that can be exploited through carefully crafted malicious input sequences.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a dual threat to affected organizations as it can simultaneously cause denial of service conditions that disrupt legitimate email services while potentially enabling unauthorized code execution. The IMAP service is a critical component for email access and management, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it affects core email functionality. Organizations relying on Mercury/32 4.01a for email services face significant risk of service disruption, data loss, or unauthorized access to email accounts. The vulnerability's potential for arbitrary code execution places organizations at risk of complete system compromise, especially when the IMAP service runs with elevated privileges or when the server hosts sensitive email data. This vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of input validation in network services and the critical need for proper bounds checking in protocol implementations.
Security mitigations for CVE-2004-1211 should prioritize immediate patching of the Mercury/32 software to version 4.02 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the buffer overflow conditions. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to the IMAP service and restrict authentication to trusted networks. Input validation controls should be strengthened at multiple levels, including application-level bounds checking and network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious IMAP command sequences. The vulnerability's exploitation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which describes exploitation of software vulnerabilities for privilege escalation, and T1499, which covers network disruption through service availability attacks. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potential buffer overflow conditions in similar network services and implement robust monitoring for abnormal IMAP command patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security updates and patch management procedures should be enforced to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced through legacy software components.