Vulnerabilities > CVE-2011-3372 - Improper Authentication vulnerability in Cyrus Imapd

047910
CVSS 7.5 - HIGH
Attack vector
NETWORK
Attack complexity
LOW
Privileges required
NONE
Confidentiality impact
PARTIAL
Integrity impact
PARTIAL
Availability impact
PARTIAL
network
low complexity
cyrus
CWE-287
nessus

Summary

imap/nntpd.c in the NNTP server (nntpd) for Cyrus IMAPd 2.4.x before 2.4.12 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication by sending an AUTHINFO USER command without sending an additional AUTHINFO PASS command.

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
Application
Cyrus
1

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Authentication Abuse
    An attacker obtains unauthorized access to an application, service or device either through knowledge of the inherent weaknesses of an authentication mechanism, or by exploiting a flaw in the authentication scheme's implementation. In such an attack an authentication mechanism is functioning but a carefully controlled sequence of events causes the mechanism to grant access to the attacker. This attack may exploit assumptions made by the target's authentication procedures, such as assumptions regarding trust relationships or assumptions regarding the generation of secret values. This attack differs from Authentication Bypass attacks in that Authentication Abuse allows the attacker to be certified as a valid user through illegitimate means, while Authentication Bypass allows the user to access protected material without ever being certified as an authenticated user. This attack does not rely on prior sessions established by successfully authenticating users, as relied upon for the "Exploitation of Session Variables, Resource IDs and other Trusted Credentials" attack patterns.
  • Exploiting Trust in Client (aka Make the Client Invisible)
    An attack of this type exploits a programs' vulnerabilities in client/server communication channel authentication and data integrity. It leverages the implicit trust a server places in the client, or more importantly, that which the server believes is the client. An attacker executes this type of attack by placing themselves in the communication channel between client and server such that communication directly to the server is possible where the server believes it is communicating only with a valid client. There are numerous variations of this type of attack.
  • Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Register Man in the Middle
    This attack utilizes a REST(REpresentational State Transfer)-style applications' trust in the system resources and environment to place man in the middle once SSL is terminated. Rest applications premise is that they leverage existing infrastructure to deliver web services functionality. An example of this is a Rest application that uses HTTP Get methods and receives a HTTP response with an XML document. These Rest style web services are deployed on existing infrastructure such as Apache and IIS web servers with no SOAP stack required. Unfortunately from a security standpoint, there frequently is no interoperable identity security mechanism deployed, so Rest developers often fall back to SSL to deliver security. In large data centers, SSL is typically terminated at the edge of the network - at the firewall, load balancer, or router. Once the SSL is terminated the HTTP request is in the clear (unless developers have hashed or encrypted the values, but this is rare). The attacker can utilize a sniffer such as Wireshark to snapshot the credentials, such as username and password that are passed in the clear once SSL is terminated. Once the attacker gathers these credentials, they can submit requests to the web service provider just as authorized user do. There is not typically an authentication on the client side, beyond what is passed in the request itself so once this is compromised, then this is generally sufficient to compromise the service's authentication scheme.
  • Man in the Middle Attack
    This type of attack targets the communication between two components (typically client and server). The attacker places himself in the communication channel between the two components. Whenever one component attempts to communicate with the other (data flow, authentication challenges, etc.), the data first goes to the attacker, who has the opportunity to observe or alter it, and it is then passed on to the other component as if it was never intercepted. This interposition is transparent leaving the two compromised components unaware of the potential corruption or leakage of their communications. The potential for Man-in-the-Middle attacks yields an implicit lack of trust in communication or identify between two components.

Nessus

  • NASL familyMandriva Local Security Checks
    NASL idMANDRIVA_MDVSA-2011-149.NASL
    descriptionMultiple vulnerabilities has been discovered and corrected in cyrus-imapd : Stack-based buffer overflow in the split_wildmats function in nntpd.c in nntpd in Cyrus IMAP Server before 2.3.17 and 2.4.x before 2.4.11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted NNTP command (CVE-2011-3208). Secunia Research has discovered a vulnerability in Cyrus IMAPd, which can be exploited by malicious people to bypass certain security restrictions. The vulnerability is caused due to an error within the authentication mechanism of the NNTP server, which can be exploited to bypass the authentication process and execute commands intended for authenticated users by sending an AUTHINFO USER command without a following AUTHINFO PASS command (CVE-2011-3372). Packages for 2009.0 are provided as of the Extended Maintenance Program. Please visit this link to learn more: http://store.mandriva.com/product_info.php?cPath=149 products_id=490 The updated packages have been patched to correct these issues.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id56525
    published2011-10-17
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/56525
    titleMandriva Linux Security Advisory : cyrus-imapd (MDVSA-2011:149)
  • NASL familySuSE Local Security Checks
    NASL idSUSE_CYRUS-IMAPD-7785.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass (CVE-2011-3372) and a DoS vulnerability (CVE-2011-3481) have been fixed in the Cyrus IMAPd nntpd.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id57176
    published2011-12-13
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/57176
    titleSuSE 10 Security Update : cyrus-imapd (ZYPP Patch Number 7785)
  • NASL familyScientific Linux Local Security Checks
    NASL idSL_20111201_CYRUS_IMAPD_ON_SL4_X.NASL
    descriptionThe cyrus-imapd packages contain a high-performance mail server with IMAP, POP3, NNTP, and Sieve support. An authentication bypass flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd NNTP server, nntpd. A remote user able to use the nntpd service could use this flaw to read or post newsgroup messages on an NNTP server configured to require user authentication, without providing valid authentication credentials. (CVE-2011-3372) A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd IMAP server, imapd. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted mail message to a victim that would possibly prevent them from accessing their mail normally, if they were using an IMAP client that relies on the server threading IMAP feature. (CVE-2011-3481) Users of cyrus-imapd are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. After installing the update, cyrus-imapd will be restarted automatically.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id61182
    published2012-08-01
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2012-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/61182
    titleScientific Linux Security Update : cyrus-imapd on SL4.x, SL5.x, SL6.x i386/x86_64
  • NASL familyAmazon Linux Local Security Checks
    NASL idALA_ALAS-2011-27.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd NNTP server, nntpd. A remote user able to use the nntpd service could use this flaw to read or post newsgroup messages on an NNTP server configured to require user authentication, without providing valid authentication credentials. (CVE-2011-3372) A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd IMAP server, imapd. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted mail message to a victim that would possibly prevent them from accessing their mail normally, if they were using an IMAP client that relies on the server threading IMAP feature. (CVE-2011-3481)
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id69586
    published2013-09-04
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2013-2018 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/69586
    titleAmazon Linux AMI : cyrus-imapd (ALAS-2011-27)
  • NASL familySuSE Local Security Checks
    NASL idSUSE_11_3_CYRUS-IMAPD-111005.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass (CVE-2011-3372) and a DoS vulnerability (CVE-2011-3481) have been fixed in the Cyrus IMAPd nntpd.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id75459
    published2014-06-13
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2014-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/75459
    titleopenSUSE Security Update : cyrus-imapd (openSUSE-SU-2011:1170-1)
  • NASL familyDebian Local Security Checks
    NASL idDEBIAN_DSA-2318.NASL
    descriptionMultiple security issues have been discovered in cyrus-imapd, a highly scalable mail system designed for use in enterprise environments. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project identifies the following problems : - CVE-2011-3208 Coverity discovered a stack-based buffer overflow in the NNTP server implementation (nttpd) of cyrus-imapd. An attacker can exploit this flaw via several crafted NNTP commands to execute arbitrary code. - CVE-2011-3372 Stefan Cornelius of Secunia Research discovered that the command processing of the NNTP server implementation (nttpd) of cyrus-imapd is not properly implementing access restrictions for certain commands and is not checking for a complete, successful authentication. An attacker can use this flaw to bypass access restrictions for some commands and, e.g. exploit CVE-2011-3208 without proper authentication.
    last seen2020-03-17
    modified2011-10-07
    plugin id56409
    published2011-10-07
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2020 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/56409
    titleDebian DSA-2318-1 : cyrus-imapd-2.2 - multiple vulnerabilities
  • NASL familyCentOS Local Security Checks
    NASL idCENTOS_RHSA-2011-1508.NASL
    descriptionUpdated cyrus-imapd packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5, and 6. The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section. The cyrus-imapd packages contain a high-performance mail server with IMAP, POP3, NNTP, and Sieve support. An authentication bypass flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd NNTP server, nntpd. A remote user able to use the nntpd service could use this flaw to read or post newsgroup messages on an NNTP server configured to require user authentication, without providing valid authentication credentials. (CVE-2011-3372) A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd IMAP server, imapd. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted mail message to a victim that would possibly prevent them from accessing their mail normally, if they were using an IMAP client that relies on the server threading IMAP feature. (CVE-2011-3481) Red Hat would like to thank the Cyrus IMAP project for reporting the CVE-2011-3372 issue. Upstream acknowledges Stefan Cornelius of Secunia Research as the original reporter of CVE-2011-3372. Users of cyrus-imapd are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. After installing the update, cyrus-imapd will be restarted automatically.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id56985
    published2011-12-02
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/56985
    titleCentOS 4 / 5 : cyrus-imapd (CESA-2011:1508)
  • NASL familySuSE Local Security Checks
    NASL idSUSE_CYRUS-IMAPD-7786.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass (CVE-2011-3372) and a DoS vulnerability (CVE-2011-3481) have been fixed in the Cyrus IMAPd nntpd.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id56605
    published2011-10-24
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/56605
    titleSuSE 10 Security Update : cyrus-imapd (ZYPP Patch Number 7786)
  • NASL familyOracle Linux Local Security Checks
    NASL idORACLELINUX_ELSA-2011-1508.NASL
    descriptionFrom Red Hat Security Advisory 2011:1508 : Updated cyrus-imapd packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5, and 6. The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section. The cyrus-imapd packages contain a high-performance mail server with IMAP, POP3, NNTP, and Sieve support. An authentication bypass flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd NNTP server, nntpd. A remote user able to use the nntpd service could use this flaw to read or post newsgroup messages on an NNTP server configured to require user authentication, without providing valid authentication credentials. (CVE-2011-3372) A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd IMAP server, imapd. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted mail message to a victim that would possibly prevent them from accessing their mail normally, if they were using an IMAP client that relies on the server threading IMAP feature. (CVE-2011-3481) Red Hat would like to thank the Cyrus IMAP project for reporting the CVE-2011-3372 issue. Upstream acknowledges Stefan Cornelius of Secunia Research as the original reporter of CVE-2011-3372. Users of cyrus-imapd are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. After installing the update, cyrus-imapd will be restarted automatically.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id68397
    published2013-07-12
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2013-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/68397
    titleOracle Linux 4 / 5 / 6 : cyrus-imapd (ELSA-2011-1508)
  • NASL familyRed Hat Local Security Checks
    NASL idREDHAT-RHSA-2011-1508.NASL
    descriptionUpdated cyrus-imapd packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5, and 6. The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section. The cyrus-imapd packages contain a high-performance mail server with IMAP, POP3, NNTP, and Sieve support. An authentication bypass flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd NNTP server, nntpd. A remote user able to use the nntpd service could use this flaw to read or post newsgroup messages on an NNTP server configured to require user authentication, without providing valid authentication credentials. (CVE-2011-3372) A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the cyrus-imapd IMAP server, imapd. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted mail message to a victim that would possibly prevent them from accessing their mail normally, if they were using an IMAP client that relies on the server threading IMAP feature. (CVE-2011-3481) Red Hat would like to thank the Cyrus IMAP project for reporting the CVE-2011-3372 issue. Upstream acknowledges Stefan Cornelius of Secunia Research as the original reporter of CVE-2011-3372. Users of cyrus-imapd are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. After installing the update, cyrus-imapd will be restarted automatically.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id56991
    published2011-12-02
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/56991
    titleRHEL 4 / 5 / 6 : cyrus-imapd (RHSA-2011:1508)
  • NASL familySuSE Local Security Checks
    NASL idSUSE_11_4_CYRUS-IMAPD-111005.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass (CVE-2011-3372) and a DoS vulnerability (CVE-2011-3481) have been fixed in the Cyrus IMAPd nntpd.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id75811
    published2014-06-13
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2014-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/75811
    titleopenSUSE Security Update : cyrus-imapd (openSUSE-SU-2011:1170-1)
  • NASL familySuSE Local Security Checks
    NASL idSUSE_11_CYRUS-IMAPD-111005.NASL
    descriptionAn authentication bypass (CVE-2011-3372) and a DoS vulnerability (CVE-2011-3481) have been fixed in the Cyrus IMAPd nntpd.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id57096
    published2011-12-13
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/57096
    titleSuSE 11.1 Security Update : cyrus-imapd (SAT Patch Number 5233)
  • NASL familyGeneral
    NASL idCYRUS_IMAP_NNTP_AUTH_BYPASS.NASL
    descriptionThe remote NNTP server contains a logic error that causes clients that send only a username, neglecting to send a password, to be treated as authenticated. This may permit an unauthenticated, remote attacker to view and post to restricted newsgroups, impersonating other users in the process.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id57336
    published2011-12-19
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2011-2018 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/57336
    titleCyrus IMAPd NNTP AUTHINFO USER Command Parsing Authentication Bypass

Redhat

advisories
rhsa
idRHSA-2011:1508
rpms
  • cyrus-imapd-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-0:2.3.16-6.el6_1.4
  • cyrus-imapd-0:2.3.7-12.el5_7.2
  • cyrus-imapd-debuginfo-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-debuginfo-0:2.3.16-6.el6_1.4
  • cyrus-imapd-debuginfo-0:2.3.7-12.el5_7.2
  • cyrus-imapd-devel-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-devel-0:2.3.16-6.el6_1.4
  • cyrus-imapd-devel-0:2.3.7-12.el5_7.2
  • cyrus-imapd-murder-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-nntp-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-perl-0:2.3.7-12.el5_7.2
  • cyrus-imapd-utils-0:2.2.12-17.el4
  • cyrus-imapd-utils-0:2.3.16-6.el6_1.4
  • cyrus-imapd-utils-0:2.3.7-12.el5_7.2
  • perl-Cyrus-0:2.2.12-17.el4