CVE-2010-3887 in Mail
Summary
by MITRE
The Limit Mail feature in the Parental Controls functionality in Mail on Apple Mac OS X does not properly enforce the correspondence whitelist, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and conduct e-mail communication by leveraging knowledge of a child s e-mail address and a parent s e-mail address, related to parental notification of unapproved e-mail addresses.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-3887 resides within the parental controls implementation of Apple Mac OS X Mail application, specifically targeting the Limit Mail feature designed to restrict children's email communications. This flaw represents a critical security weakness in the operating system's content filtering mechanisms that were intended to protect minors from inappropriate online interactions. The vulnerability operates by exploiting a fundamental flaw in how the system validates email addresses against predefined whitelists, creating a pathway for unauthorized communication that bypasses established parental controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of email address correspondence within the parental control framework. When parents configure the Limit Mail feature, they typically establish a whitelist of approved email addresses that their children are permitted to communicate with. However, the flaw allows attackers to circumvent this restriction by leveraging knowledge of both a child's email address and a parent's email address, effectively creating a bypass mechanism that enables unauthorized communication. This represents a classic case of improper access control enforcement where the system fails to properly validate the legitimacy of email correspondence attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple bypass of parental controls, as it fundamentally undermines the security model designed to protect minors from unsolicited or inappropriate email communications. Attackers can exploit this weakness to send emails to children through parent addresses, potentially leading to social engineering attacks, phishing attempts, or other malicious activities that could compromise child safety. The vulnerability particularly affects families who rely on Mac OS X parental controls to maintain secure communication boundaries, as it allows unauthorized third parties to circumvent these protections without requiring authentication or authorization.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically representing improper access control enforcement where the system fails to properly validate email address relationships. The flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 Phishing, as it enables attackers to craft convincing email communications that appear to come from trusted parent addresses, potentially leading to successful social engineering attacks. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical knowledge and can be accomplished through simple email manipulation techniques, making it particularly dangerous in environments where parental controls are relied upon for child protection.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate system updates and patches provided by Apple, as well as enhanced monitoring of email communication patterns within parental control frameworks. Organizations and families should implement additional email filtering mechanisms beyond the built-in parental controls, regularly audit configured whitelists, and maintain awareness of the limitations of such security features. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive security testing for parental control systems and demonstrates the critical need for proper access control validation in all security mechanisms, particularly those designed to protect vulnerable users such as children.