CVE-2009-5057 in OTRS
Summary
by MITRE
The S/MIME feature in Open Ticket Request System (OTRS) before 2.3.4 does not configure the RANDFILE and HOME environment variables for OpenSSL, which might make it easier for remote attackers to decrypt e-mail messages that had lower than intended entropy available for cryptographic operations, related to inability to write to the seeding file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-5057 affects the Open Ticket Request System (OTRS) version 2.3.3 and earlier, specifically targeting its S/MIME email encryption functionality. This weakness represents a critical flaw in the cryptographic implementation that directly impacts the security of encrypted communications within the system. The issue stems from improper configuration of OpenSSL environment variables, particularly the failure to set the RANDFILE and HOME variables correctly, which creates predictable cryptographic states that weaken the overall security posture of the email encryption mechanism.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper initialization of OpenSSL's random number generation system. When the RANDFILE environment variable is not properly configured, OpenSSL cannot maintain an adequate entropy pool for generating cryptographically secure random numbers required for S/MIME encryption operations. This misconfiguration occurs because the system fails to specify where OpenSSL should store its random seeding data, typically located in the HOME directory. Without proper seeding, the cryptographic operations become vulnerable to attacks that exploit predictable randomness patterns, making it significantly easier for adversaries to perform statistical analysis and potentially recover plaintext messages.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a substantial risk for organizations relying on OTRS for secure email communications. Remote attackers who can observe encrypted email traffic can exploit the weak entropy conditions to perform cryptanalysis against the S/MIME encrypted messages, potentially leading to unauthorized decryption of sensitive information. The impact extends beyond simple message confidentiality breaches as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of the encryption system, creating opportunities for man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping on communications that should remain protected. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations handling sensitive data such as personal information, financial records, or proprietary business communications where email encryption is essential for compliance with data protection regulations.
The weakness manifests as a failure to properly initialize cryptographic randomness, which aligns with CWE-330, indicating insufficient entropy in random number generation. This vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1552.004, which covers unsecured credentials in the context of cryptographic key material exposure. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to OTRS version 2.3.4 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for proper OpenSSL environment variable configuration. Additionally, administrators should verify that OpenSSL is properly configured with appropriate random seeding mechanisms and that the system maintains adequate entropy sources through hardware random number generators or other entropy collection methods. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security auditing of all cryptographic implementations within the organization to identify similar configuration weaknesses that could expose other systems to comparable risks.