CVE-2012-0448 in Bugzilla
Summary
by MITRE
Bugzilla 2.x and 3.x before 3.4.14, 3.5.x and 3.6.x before 3.6.8, 3.7.x and 4.0.x before 4.0.4, and 4.1.x and 4.2.x before 4.2rc2 does not reject non-ASCII characters in e-mail addresses of new user accounts, which makes it easier for remote authenticated users to spoof other user accounts by choosing a similar e-mail address.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-0448 affects Bugzilla versions ranging from 2.x through 4.2rc2, specifically targeting the email address validation mechanism during user account creation. This flaw represents a significant security weakness in the authentication and user management system of the bug tracking software, where the application fails to properly validate email addresses containing non-ascii characters. The vulnerability allows malicious users to exploit the lack of proper input sanitization to create accounts with email addresses that appear similar to existing legitimate users, potentially enabling account takeover and impersonation attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate string validation in the email address processing code. When users attempt to create new accounts, the system accepts email addresses containing non-ascii characters without proper filtering or rejection mechanisms. This weakness creates a condition where attackers can register accounts using email addresses that contain unicode characters or other non-standard ascii symbols that visually resemble legitimate user email addresses. The flaw operates at the input validation layer and can be categorized under CWE-20, which represents improper input validation, and more specifically relates to CWE-184, which deals with incomplete blacklist validation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability significantly increases the attack surface for authenticated users who can leverage the weakness to impersonate legitimate users within the Bugzilla system. The impact extends beyond simple account confusion as it enables potential privilege escalation and access to sensitive bug reports, user data, and system resources that are typically restricted to legitimate account holders. Attackers can exploit this by creating accounts with email addresses that visually mimic existing users, potentially bypassing security controls that rely on email verification or user identification mechanisms.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with techniques documented in the ATT&CK framework under T1078, which covers valid accounts, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting. The ability to create similar-looking email addresses provides attackers with a method to perform social engineering attacks or gain unauthorized access to user accounts that may have access to sensitive information within the bug tracking environment. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on email-based authentication and user identification within their Bugzilla deployments.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-0448 should focus on implementing proper email address validation and sanitization processes. Organizations should immediately upgrade to patched versions of Bugzilla, specifically versions 3.4.14, 3.6.8, 4.0.4, and 4.2rc2 or later. Additionally, administrators should implement strict email validation policies that reject non-ascii characters in user registration forms, enforce email verification processes, and consider implementing additional authentication mechanisms such as two-factor authentication to reduce the impact of account impersonation attempts. Regular security audits should include verification that input validation mechanisms properly handle all character sets and that user account creation processes maintain proper integrity checks.