CVE-2007-1282 in Thunderbird
Summary
by MITRE
Integer overflow in Mozilla Thunderbird before 1.5.0.10 and SeaMonkey before 1.0.8 allows remote attackers to trigger a buffer overflow and possibly execute arbitrary code via a text/enhanced or text/richtext e-mail message with an extremely long line.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1282 represents a critical integer overflow flaw affecting Mozilla Thunderbird versions prior to 1.5.0.10 and SeaMonkey versions prior to 1.0.8. This issue stems from inadequate input validation within the email processing components of these applications, specifically when handling text/enhanced or text/richtext MIME content types. The flaw manifests when processing email messages containing extremely long lines that exceed the application's expected buffer sizes, creating conditions where integer arithmetic operations can overflow and result in memory corruption.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to properly validate the length of email content lines before allocating memory buffers for processing. When a maliciously crafted email message contains a line that is excessively long, the integer variables used to calculate buffer sizes can overflow, leading to insufficient memory allocation for the actual content. This overflow condition creates a scenario where subsequent memory operations can overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting critical application data structures or executable code segments.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to email security as it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems simply by sending a specially crafted email message. The attack vector requires no authentication or user interaction beyond receiving the malicious email, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where email is a primary communication channel. The integer overflow can potentially be exploited to overwrite return addresses, function pointers, or other critical memory structures, enabling attackers to redirect program execution flow and inject malicious code.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which classifies this type of flaw as a fundamental programming error in boundary checking. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1190, Exploit Public-Facing Application, as it represents a remote code execution vulnerability in a widely deployed email client. The attack scenario typically involves an attacker crafting a malicious email with an extremely long line that triggers the integer overflow, followed by memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution. Organizations using these vulnerable versions face potential compromise of user systems, data breaches, and unauthorized access to sensitive email communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate deployment of security patches provided by Mozilla, which address the integer overflow in the email parsing routines. System administrators should also implement email filtering rules that can detect and block emails containing unusually long lines or suspicious content patterns. Additionally, organizations should consider network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify potential exploitation attempts through monitoring of email traffic patterns. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure all email clients remain updated and that proper input validation mechanisms are in place to prevent similar issues in other applications.