CVE-2014-9472 in Request Tracker
Summary
by MITRE
The email gateway in RT (aka Request Tracker) 3.0.0 through 4.x before 4.0.23 and 4.2.x before 4.2.10 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and disk consumption) via a crafted email.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9472 affects the email gateway functionality within Request Tracker versions 3.0.0 through 4.x before 4.0.23 and 4.2.x before 4.2.10. This represents a significant security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute a denial of service attack against systems utilizing the RT email gateway component. The vulnerability specifically targets the processing of email messages, creating a condition where maliciously crafted emails can trigger excessive resource consumption on the affected system. The attack vector operates through the manipulation of email headers and content in ways that cause the email gateway to enter into resource-intensive processing loops, ultimately leading to system performance degradation and potential complete service unavailability.
The technical flaw manifests in the email gateway's insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms when processing incoming email messages. When a crafted email is received, the system's parsing routines become overwhelmed by malformed or specially constructed email elements that cause the gateway to consume excessive cpu cycles and disk I/O operations. This behavior stems from inadequate boundary checking and state management within the email processing pipeline, where the system fails to properly handle edge cases in email format parsing. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the protocol level, requiring no authentication or privileged access to exploit, making it accessible to any remote attacker who can send email to the targeted system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass significant business continuity concerns. Systems relying on RT for ticket management and support operations face potential downtime that can cascade into broader organizational impacts, particularly in environments where email integration is critical for workflow automation. The resource consumption patterns created by this vulnerability can cause systems to become unresponsive, leading to delayed ticket processing, lost email communications, and potential data loss scenarios. Network administrators may observe sustained high cpu utilization and disk I/O saturation, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate system load and malicious attack activity. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations with high email volume environments where the email gateway processes thousands of messages daily.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9472 should focus on immediate patch application to the affected RT versions, as this represents the most effective solution to address the root cause. Organizations should also implement email filtering mechanisms that can identify and quarantine suspicious email patterns before they reach the RT email gateway. Network-level firewalls and email security appliances can provide additional protection by monitoring for unusual email processing patterns and implementing rate limiting controls. The implementation of proper input validation and sanitization measures within the email processing pipeline would help prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in future deployments. Organizations should also establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual resource consumption patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts, aligning with security best practices outlined in the CWE catalog under category 129 for input validation and 20 for input sanitization. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper email handling security measures and aligns with ATT&CK techniques for denial of service attacks targeting network services and system resources.