CVE-2005-4153 in Mailman
Summary
by MITRE
Mailman 2.1.4 through 2.1.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a message that causes the server to "fail with an Overflow on bad date data in a processed message," a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-3573.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4153 affects the Mailman mailing list management system version 2.1.4 through 2.1.6, presenting a significant denial of service risk that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This flaw specifically manifests when the system processes messages containing malformed date data, causing the server to encounter an overflow condition that results in system failure. The vulnerability operates independently from CVE-2005-3573, which indicates that attackers can leverage this weakness without requiring the conditions necessary for the related vulnerability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within Mailman's message processing pipeline, particularly concerning date field parsing. When the system encounters date data that exceeds expected parameters or contains malformed entries, the internal buffer handling mechanism fails to properly manage the overflow condition. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes buffer overflow conditions in stack-based buffers, and represents a classic example of insufficient boundary checking in data processing components. The flaw essentially allows an attacker to craft malicious email messages with specially formatted date headers that trigger memory corruption during message handling.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Mailman for email distribution and communication. The remote exploit capability means that attackers can disable mailing list services without requiring local system access or authentication credentials, effectively rendering the affected mailing lists unusable until the system is manually restarted or the underlying software is patched. This denial of service condition directly impacts business continuity and can be particularly damaging for organizations that depend on mailing lists for critical communications, announcements, or customer engagement. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it can be triggered through legitimate email processing, making it difficult to distinguish between malicious and benign traffic.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the vendor-provided patches that address the buffer overflow conditions in Mailman's date parsing routines. System administrators should also consider implementing email filtering rules that validate date headers before message processing, though this approach may introduce additional complexity and potential performance overhead. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation and proper error handling in email processing systems, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for denial of service attacks. Additionally, organizations should review their email security configurations to ensure that message processing components are properly hardened against buffer overflow conditions and implement monitoring to detect unusual processing patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.