CVE-2005-2745 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
Mail.app in Mail for Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9, when using Kerberos 5 for SMTP authentication, can include uninitialized memory in a message, which might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/10/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-2745 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Apple Mail.app's handling of SMTP authentication through Kerberos 5 implementation. This issue specifically affects Mac OS X 10.3.9 systems where the email client attempts to establish secure communication with mail servers using Kerberos 5 authentication protocols. The flaw manifests when Mail.app processes SMTP authentication requests, creating a scenario where uninitialized memory segments become inadvertently included in outgoing email messages.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management during the Kerberos 5 authentication process within the Mail application's SMTP client implementation. When Mail.app establishes an SMTP connection using Kerberos 5 authentication, it fails to properly initialize memory buffers before incorporating them into the authentication handshake process. This results in the inclusion of random data from previously allocated memory segments within the email message headers or content, potentially exposing sensitive information that was stored in those memory locations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant security risks to organizations relying on Mac OS X systems for email communication. Remote attackers who can intercept email traffic or gain access to the mail server can exploit this weakness to extract sensitive data from uninitialized memory segments. The information obtained might include session tokens, cryptographic keys, or other confidential data that was previously stored in memory areas used by the Mail application. This represents a classic example of information leakage through uninitialized memory exposure, which aligns with CWE-1288 classification for uninitialized memory access in network protocols.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked memory content could potentially contain authentication credentials, session identifiers, or other sensitive operational data that could be leveraged for further attacks. This weakness creates opportunities for attackers to perform credential harvesting, session hijacking, or other advanced persistent threats that could compromise the entire email infrastructure. The vulnerability particularly affects environments where Kerberos 5 authentication is actively used for SMTP communication, making it a significant concern for enterprise email systems that rely on this security protocol.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of Mac OS X, disabling Kerberos 5 authentication for SMTP if not strictly required, and implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves proper memory initialization before authentication processes and ensuring that all memory segments are properly cleared or initialized before being included in network communications. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in security-critical applications and highlights the need for comprehensive input validation and memory sanitization practices. The issue also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for unsecured credentials and T1071.004 for application layer protocol traffic filtering, emphasizing the need for robust network security controls to prevent exploitation.