CVE-2007-0652 in MailEnable
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in MailEnable Professional before 2.37 allows remote attackers to modify arbitrary configurations and perform unauthorized actions as arbitrary users via a link or IMG tag.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0652 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in MailEnable Professional versions prior to 2.37. This weakness resides in the web-based administrative interface of the email server software, creating a significant security risk that enables remote attackers to manipulate system configurations without proper authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication mechanisms within the MailEnable web administration panel, where requests are not adequately validated for origin or authenticity. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious links or embedding IMG tags that, when executed by a victim's browser, trigger unauthorized administrative actions within the MailEnable system.
The technical nature of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms in the web interface forms and endpoints. When a user with administrative privileges visits a malicious webpage containing the crafted attack vector, their browser automatically submits requests to the MailEnable server using their existing authenticated session. This occurs because the application fails to verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the same domain or require additional validation tokens that would prevent unauthorized requests from being processed. The flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web administration interface, making it particularly dangerous for environments where administrative access is required for configuration management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration modifications, as it allows attackers to perform arbitrary actions as any user within the MailEnable system. This includes but is not limited to creating new user accounts, modifying existing user permissions, changing system settings, and potentially gaining persistent access to the email server infrastructure. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the server or direct network connectivity to the administrative interface. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the email services, as unauthorized modifications can lead to service disruption, data compromise, or complete system takeover. Organizations relying on MailEnable Professional for email services face significant risk, particularly those with less sophisticated security monitoring capabilities that might not immediately detect unauthorized configuration changes.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps directly to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1078 credential access and T1566 initial access tactics. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the web browser and the target application, making it particularly insidious as users may unknowingly trigger malicious actions while browsing legitimate websites. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including immediate patching to version 2.37 or later, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and establishing robust monitoring for unauthorized configuration changes. Network segmentation, access control restrictions, and regular security audits become critical defensive measures to minimize the impact of such vulnerabilities in production environments where MailEnable services are deployed.