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If through a vulnerability assessment, a network security issue is detected for the vulnerability below, applying the appropriate security patches in a timely matter is very important. If you have detected that your system has already been compromised, following CERT's Network Security recovery document will assist with recommended steps for system recovery.

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Vulnerability Assessment Details

POP3 Unencrypted Cleartext Logins

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
Checks if POP3 daemon allows unencrypted cleartext logins

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment

The remote host is running a POP3 daemon that permits cleartext logins over
unencrypted connections. A possible hacker can uncover user names and
passwords by sniffing traffic to the POP3 daemon if a less secure
authentication mechanism (eg, USER command, AUTH PLAIN, AUTH LOGIN) is
used.

Solution : Contact your vendor for a fix or encrypt traffic with SSL /
TLS using stunnel.

See also : RFC 2222 for infomation about SASL.
RFC 2595 for information about TLS with POP3.

Network Security Threat Level: Low

Networks Security ID:

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: This script is Copyright (C) 2004 George A. Theall

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