CVE-2008-3449 in MailEnable
Summary
by MITRE
MailEnable Professional 3.5.2 and Enterprise 3.52 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via multiple IMAP connection requests to the same folder.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-3449 represents a critical denial of service weakness in MailEnable Professional 3.5.2 and Enterprise 3.52 email server implementations. This flaw specifically targets the IMAP protocol handling mechanism within the MailEnable system, creating a condition where malicious actors can exploit the software's connection management to trigger system crashes. The vulnerability operates through a straightforward yet effective attack vector that leverages the server's inability to properly handle multiple concurrent connection requests to identical folders, ultimately leading to complete service disruption.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and connection state management within the IMAP service component of MailEnable. When multiple connection requests are simultaneously directed to the same folder, the system fails to properly queue or manage these concurrent access attempts. This improper handling creates a resource exhaustion scenario where the server's internal connection tracking mechanisms become overwhelmed, leading to memory corruption or thread contention that results in application crash. The flaw manifests as a classic resource exhaustion attack pattern, where the attacker does not require authentication or elevated privileges to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in production environments.
The operational impact of CVE-2008-3449 extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise email availability for entire organizations relying on MailEnable systems. When exploited, this vulnerability can cause complete IMAP service outages, preventing legitimate users from accessing their email accounts through standard email clients. The attack requires minimal resources and can be executed by any remote attacker with network access to the target system, making it a preferred method for disrupting email services. Organizations utilizing MailEnable in mission-critical environments face significant operational risks, as the vulnerability can be exploited to create sustained service disruptions that may last until manual intervention or system restart occurs.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which catalogs weaknesses related to resource exhaustion, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation practices and inadequate error handling within the email server's IMAP implementation, representing a fundamental security design issue. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including connection rate limiting, implementing proper connection pooling mechanisms, and applying vendor patches as soon as available. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous connection patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security assessments of email infrastructure components should be conducted to identify similar resource management vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited in similar fashion to maintain overall system resilience against denial of service attacks.