CVE-2004-1752 in Gaucho
Summary
by MITRE
Stack-based buffer overflow in Gaucho 1.4 Build 145 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a POP3 email with a long Content-Type header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1752 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow flaw within Gaucho 1.4 Build 145 email client software. This security weakness specifically manifests when the application processes POP3 email messages containing excessively long Content-Type headers, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to gain unauthorized system control. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the email parsing routine, which fails to properly bounds-check the length of header fields before copying them into fixed-size stack buffers. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, a well-documented weakness category that encompasses buffer overflows occurring in stack memory regions where insufficient bounds checking permits data to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution capabilities, as it enables attackers to potentially inject malicious code that can manipulate system processes, escalate privileges, or establish persistent access to affected systems. When a victim receives a specially crafted email with an oversized Content-Type header, the vulnerable application's parsing logic attempts to store this data in a predetermined stack buffer that cannot accommodate the excessive input length. This overflow condition corrupts adjacent stack memory, potentially overwriting return addresses and function pointers, thereby allowing attackers to redirect program execution flow to malicious code locations. The remote exploitation nature of this vulnerability means that attackers can trigger the condition without requiring physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where email clients are commonly used.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to the ATT&CK framework's execution tactics, specifically targeting the 'Command and Scripting Interpreter' and 'Exploitation for Client Execution' techniques. The attack vector leverages the email protocol to deliver malicious payloads, aligning with ATT&CK's 'Phishing' and 'Social Engineering' categories. Organizations using Gaucho 1.4 Build 145 must implement immediate mitigations including applying vendor patches, deploying email filtering solutions that can detect and block malformed Content-Type headers, and implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Additionally, system administrators should consider disabling unnecessary email client features, implementing strict input validation at network boundaries, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other email processing applications. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of robust input validation and memory safety practices in client-side applications, particularly those handling untrusted network data such as email messages. Organizations should also consider implementing email security gateways that can perform deep content inspection to prevent the delivery of malformed emails that could exploit similar buffer overflow conditions in other software components.