CVE-2006-0712 in Squishdot
Summary
by MITRE
mail_html template in Squishdot 1.5.0 and earlier does not properly validate the (1) email and (2) title variables, which allows remote attackers to bypass spam filters by injecting SMTP headers, probably due to a CRLF injection vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/19/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-0712 affects Squishdot version 1.5.0 and earlier, specifically within the mail_html template functionality. This represents a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to manipulate email headers through improper input validation. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied data in two critical variables: email addresses and title fields. The absence of proper validation creates an avenue for attackers to inject malicious content that can bypass standard spam filtering mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from a CRLF (Carriage Return Line Feed) injection flaw that occurs when the application processes user input without proper sanitization. When attackers provide malicious input containing CRLF characters within the email or title variables, these sequences are not properly escaped or filtered before being incorporated into SMTP headers. This allows attackers to inject additional header fields or manipulate existing ones, effectively bypassing spam filters that rely on header validation to identify malicious content. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, specifically targeting the email templating system where user input is directly embedded into email messages without adequate security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple spam bypassing, as it enables attackers to potentially conduct various malicious activities including email spoofing, header manipulation, and content injection attacks. By leveraging this flaw, adversaries can craft emails that appear legitimate to spam filters while containing malicious payloads or directing recipients to harmful websites. The vulnerability affects the integrity of the email communication system and undermines the trust model that users expect from email applications. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in web applications that handle user-generated content, as it can be exploited to compromise the entire email delivery infrastructure.
Security practitioners should address this vulnerability through multiple mitigation strategies that align with established security frameworks including CWE-117 for improper output escaping and ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploitation of remote services. The primary remediation involves implementing strict input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied data that is later incorporated into email headers. This includes enforcing proper escaping of special characters, particularly CRLF sequences, and implementing comprehensive validation that ensures email addresses and title fields conform to expected formats. Organizations should also consider implementing header sanitization routines that remove or escape potentially dangerous sequences before email transmission occurs. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications and highlights the need for consistent security practices throughout the application development lifecycle to prevent similar issues from occurring in other components.