CVE-2005-3813 in Mailenable Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
IMAP service (meimaps.exe) of MailEnable Professional 1.7 and Enterprise 1.1 allows remote authenticated attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) by using RENAME with a non-existent mailbox, a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-3690.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3813 affects the IMAP service component known as meimaps.exe within MailEnable Professional 1.7 and Enterprise 1.1 email server software. This represents a denial of service weakness that specifically targets the IMAP protocol implementation within the mail server infrastructure. The flaw manifests when an authenticated remote attacker exploits a particular command sequence involving the RENAME operation against non-existent mailboxes, leading to application instability and potential service disruption.
This vulnerability operates through a specific technical mechanism where the IMAP service fails to properly handle error conditions when processing mailbox rename requests. When an attacker successfully authenticates to the mail server and attempts to rename a mailbox that does not exist, the service encounters an unhandled exception or improper state management that results in application crash. The vulnerability differs from CVE-2005-3690 in that it specifically targets the RENAME command behavior rather than other IMAP operations, making it a distinct vector for service disruption attacks. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and error handling within the IMAP service implementation, where the system does not adequately validate the existence of target mailboxes before attempting operations on them.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise the availability of email services for legitimate users. When the IMAP service crashes due to this flaw, it affects email access for authenticated users who may be unable to perform mailbox operations, including renaming, moving, or organizing their email folders. This creates a cascading effect where users cannot access their email accounts through IMAP clients, leading to productivity losses and potential business disruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authentication credentials to exploit, meaning that any authenticated user with access to the mail server can potentially trigger this denial of service condition.
Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes "Improper Input Validation" as the underlying weakness, and represents a classic example of how improper error handling can lead to service disruption. The attack pattern follows techniques documented in MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499.004 sub-technique for "Network Denial of Service" where adversaries leverage application-specific vulnerabilities to disrupt services. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches, implementing access controls to limit IMAP service exposure, and monitoring for unusual authentication patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, network segmentation and proper firewall rules can help limit the scope of potential exploitation while administrators should consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for the specific command sequences that trigger this vulnerability.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the importance of robust error handling in network services and the need for comprehensive security testing of protocol implementations. MailEnable's IMAP service failure demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation gaps in authentication and command processing can create significant availability risks. Organizations should conduct regular vulnerability assessments of their email infrastructure and maintain updated security patches to prevent exploitation of similar flaws in other email server implementations. The vulnerability also underscores the necessity of implementing proper logging and monitoring for authentication and command execution within email services to detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts effectively.