CVE-2007-1266 in Evolution
Summary
by MITRE
Evolution 2.8.1 and earlier does not properly use the --status-fd argument when invoking GnuPG, which prevents Evolution from visually distinguishing between signed and unsigned portions of OpenPGP messages with multiple components, which allows remote attackers to forge the contents of a message without detection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-1266 affects Evolution email client versions 2.8.1 and earlier, specifically targeting the integration between Evolution and GnuPG for OpenPGP message handling. This flaw represents a critical security issue in email encryption verification mechanisms that impacts the integrity of digital signatures within multi-component OpenPGP messages. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of the --status-fd argument during GnuPG invocation, which is a fundamental parameter for communicating status information from GnuPG back to the calling application.
The technical flaw manifests when Evolution processes OpenPGP messages containing multiple signed and unsigned components. The --status-fd argument is designed to provide Evolution with detailed status information about the cryptographic operations performed by GnuPG, including which portions of a message are signed and which are not. When this argument is not properly utilized, Evolution cannot distinguish between signed and unsigned sections of a message, leading to a complete breakdown in signature verification. This misconfiguration allows attackers to manipulate message contents while maintaining the appearance of valid digital signatures, effectively bypassing the security mechanisms intended to protect message integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it undermines the fundamental trust model of OpenPGP encryption. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness to inject malicious content into signed messages without detection, potentially leading to data manipulation, phishing attacks, or the dissemination of false information. The vulnerability affects the core cryptographic verification process, making it impossible for users to reliably determine whether message contents have been altered since signing. This creates a false sense of security for users who rely on digital signatures to verify message authenticity and integrity, particularly in environments where email security is paramount such as corporate communications, financial institutions, or government agencies.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-254 in the Common Weakness Enumeration, specifically addressing weaknesses in cryptographic implementations related to improper use of cryptographic APIs. The flaw also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers spearphishing attacks that can leverage such cryptographic weaknesses to bypass security controls. Organizations using affected versions of Evolution should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Evolution, implementing additional message validation checks, and potentially disabling automatic signature verification until proper patches are applied. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper API parameter handling in cryptographic applications and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of security-critical integrations between different software components. System administrators should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for handling suspected cryptographic tampering events.