CVE-2018-14352 in Mutt
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Mutt before 1.10.1 and NeoMutt before 2018-07-16. imap_quote_string in imap/util.c does not leave room for quote characters, leading to a stack-based buffer overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-14352 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow flaw in the Mutt and NeoMutt email clients. This issue affects versions prior to 1.10.1 for Mutt and before 2018-07-16 for NeoMutt, making it a significant security concern for users relying on these email clients for secure communications. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management in the imap_quote_string function located within the imap/util.c source file, which is part of the internet message access protocol implementation that these clients use to connect to mail servers.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient buffer allocation within the imap_quote_string function. When processing IMAP commands that require string quoting, the function fails to account for the additional space required for quote characters that must be inserted around the string data. This oversight creates a condition where the function attempts to write data beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, resulting in a stack-based buffer overflow. The vulnerability manifests when the application processes specially crafted IMAP responses or commands that contain strings requiring quoting, particularly in scenarios involving user-controlled input or malformed server responses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and potentially exploitable by remote attackers. An attacker who can influence the IMAP server response or manipulate the data being processed by the mail client could trigger the buffer overflow condition, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution on the victim's system. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users access email through IMAP connections to potentially untrusted servers, such as public email services or corporate environments with compromised mail infrastructure. The stack-based nature of the overflow provides attackers with opportunities to overwrite return addresses, function pointers, or other critical stack memory locations, enabling privilege escalation or complete system compromise.
This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, which classifies the flaw as a condition where data written to a stack buffer exceeds the buffer's allocated size, causing memory corruption that can be exploited for code execution. The issue also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, as it represents a client-side exploitation vector targeting the email client application. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates characteristics of T1566 Impairing Security Features, as the improper buffer handling undermines the application's memory safety mechanisms. Organizations using affected versions of Mutt or NeoMutt should prioritize immediate patching to address this vulnerability, as the potential for remote code execution makes it a high-priority security concern. The fix implemented in versions 1.10.1 and the corresponding NeoMutt release addresses the buffer allocation issue by ensuring adequate space is reserved for quote characters during string processing operations.