CVE-2012-4499 in Email
Summary
by MITRE
The contact formatter page in the Email Field module 6.x-1.x before 6.x-1.2 and 7.x-1.x before 7.x-1.1 for Drupal allows remote attackers to email the stored address in the entity via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4499 affects the Email Field module in Drupal versions 6.x-1.x prior to 6.x-1.2 and 7.x-1.x prior to 7.x-1.1. This security flaw resides within the contact formatter page functionality that processes email addresses stored within Drupal entities. The vulnerability represents a critical information disclosure issue that could potentially expose sensitive email addresses to unauthorized parties. The unspecified attack vectors suggest that the flaw may be exploitable through multiple pathways including but not limited to direct web requests, form submissions, or API calls that interact with the affected module's contact formatting capabilities. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of information exposure vulnerabilities that can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the Email Field module's contact formatter component. When Drupal processes email addresses stored in entities and formats them for display or transmission through the contact page functionality, the module fails to properly validate or sanitize the email addresses before exposing them to remote attackers. This flaw allows malicious actors to potentially extract email addresses that are stored within the system's database or entity structures. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the data presentation layer where email addresses are formatted for contact purposes, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate and malicious requests. According to CWE guidelines, this represents a CWE-200: Information Exposure vulnerability where sensitive information is disclosed to unauthorized actors.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-4499 extends beyond simple information disclosure as it can facilitate various downstream attacks including spam campaigns, social engineering attempts, and targeted phishing operations. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can harvest email addresses from Drupal sites that utilize the affected Email Field module, potentially compromising user privacy and security. The exposure of stored email addresses creates opportunities for attackers to conduct mass email campaigns, gather intelligence about site users, or use the harvested addresses for credential stuffing attacks against other services. This vulnerability particularly affects Drupal installations that rely heavily on email functionality and user contact management features, making it a significant concern for organizations that handle sensitive user communications. The impact is amplified when considering that the vulnerability affects multiple Drupal versions and module branches, indicating a widespread potential exposure across numerous installations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-4499 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Drupal installations to versions 6.x-1.2 and 7.x-1.1 or later where the vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should also implement network-level restrictions to limit access to contact form endpoints and consider implementing additional input validation at the web application firewall level. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of contact form access that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for Application Layer Protocol: DNS where attackers might use exposed email addresses to conduct further reconnaissance activities. Additionally, organizations should review their email address storage and presentation practices to ensure that sensitive data is not unnecessarily exposed through contact formatting features, implementing proper access controls and data validation mechanisms. Regular security audits of Drupal modules and core functionality should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities that could potentially expose user data through various presentation and formatting components.