Vulnerability Assessment & Network Security Forums

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.

Home >> Browse Vulnerability Assessment Database >> Misc. >> UW-IMAP CRAM-MD5 Remote Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Vulnerability Assessment Details

UW-IMAP CRAM-MD5 Remote Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
Checks the version of UW-IMAP

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment

There is a flaw in the remote UW-IMAP server which permits an
authenticated user to log into the server as any user. The flaw is
in the CRAM-MD5 authentication theme.

A possible hacker, exploiting this flaw, would only need to identify a
vulnerable UW-IMAP server which had enabled the CRAM-MD5 authentication
scheme.
The attacker would then be able to log in as any valid user.

It is important to note that the IMAP daemon will automatically enable
CRAM-MD5 if the /etc/cram-md5.pwd file exists.

Solution : Upgrade to the most recent version of UW-IMAP.
In addition, the fact that CRAM-MD5 is enabled indicates that
the server is storing the IMAP passwords in plaintext.
Ensure that the /etc/cram-md5.pwd file is mode 0400.

Network Security Threat Level: High

Networks Security ID: 12391

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: This script is Copyright (C) 2005 Tenable Network Security

Cables, Connectors