X-Mail Vulnerabilities

Created 2/21/01
CAN 2001-0192

Impact

A buffer overflow in XMail could allow a remote user with a valid e-mail account on the system to execute arbitrary commands.

Background

X-Mail is a full-featured mail server which runs on Unix and Windows NT. It supports the SMTP, POP3, and finger protocols.

X-Mail comes with a tool called the CTRL Server which can be used for administration of the mail server. The CTRL Server runs on port 6017 by default.

The Problem

The CTRL Server which comes with X-Mail 0.67 and earlier versions contain a buffer overflow condition. This condition could be exploited to execute arbitrary commands on the server.

A valid user name and password are required in order to exploit this vulnerability, but in many cases an attacker would be able to gain this information using a brute-force attack.

Resolution

Upgrade to version 0.68 or higher when it becomes available.

Where can I read more about this?

For more information, see the posting to Bugtraq.