CVE-2009-1037 in Print
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Send by e-mail module in the "Printer, e-mail and PDF versions" module 5.x before 5.x-4.4 and 6.x before 6.x-1.4, a module for Drupal, allows remote attackers to send unlimited spam messages via unknown vectors related to the flood control API.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-1037 affects the Send by e-mail module within Drupal's "Printer, e-mail and PDF versions" module series. This security flaw exists in Drupal versions 5.x prior to 5.x-4.4 and 6.x prior to 6.x-1.4, representing a significant weakness in the email sending functionality that could be exploited by remote attackers. The vulnerability specifically relates to the flood control API implementation within the module, which is designed to prevent abuse through rate limiting mechanisms but fails to properly enforce these controls.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate implementation of flood control mechanisms that should limit the frequency of email sending operations. Attackers can exploit this weakness to send unlimited spam messages through unknown vectors that bypass the intended rate limiting protections. This represents a critical failure in the module's security architecture where the flood control API does not effectively prevent message flooding, allowing malicious actors to overwhelm email systems and potentially use the module as a vector for spam distribution. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in publicly accessible Drupal installations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple spam generation to potentially compromise the entire email infrastructure of affected Drupal sites. Remote attackers can leverage this weakness to flood email servers with messages, potentially causing service degradation, resource exhaustion, and even blacklisting of the sending domain. The vulnerability's exploitation could lead to significant reputational damage for organizations using affected Drupal versions, as their email systems become associated with spam distribution. Additionally, the flood control failure may enable attackers to use the module as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks targeting the underlying Drupal platform or other connected services.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected Drupal installations to versions 5.x-4.4 or 6.x-1.4 where the vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should also implement additional email filtering mechanisms and monitor email traffic for unusual patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network-level controls such as rate limiting at the firewall or reverse proxy level can provide additional protection against abuse of the email sending functionality. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-305 authentication weakness categories and could be mapped to ATT&CK techniques involving spam and email abuse, specifically T1566.200 related to phishing with email and T1071.004 related to application layer protocol usage. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their Drupal installations to identify other potentially vulnerable modules and ensure proper implementation of flood control mechanisms throughout their web applications.