Re: IMail Account hijack through the Web Interface

From: Henrik Larsson (henrikat_private)
Date: Mon Mar 11 2002 - 15:05:40 PST

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    This (among other things in IMail v. 7.04 and earlier) was reported to 
    Bugtraq by Niels Heinen (zilli0nat_private) on the 12th of October last year. 
    The only difference is that this post reports that v. 7.05 is also 
    vulnerable (if not patched).
    
    http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/219970
    
    On 21:37 2002-03-10 +0100 Obscure wrote:
    >Advisory Title: IMail Account hijack through the Web Interface
    >Release Date: 10/03/2002
    >Application: IMail Server
    >
    >Platform: Windows NT4
    >           Windows 2000
    >           Windows XP
    >
    >Version: 7.05 or earlier
    >
    >Severity: Malicious users can easily access other people's accounts.
    >
    >Author: Obscure^ [ obscureat_private ]
    >
    >Vendor Status: Informed on 21 Feb 2002, a fix was already issued to
    >customers.
    >
    >
    >Web:
    >
    >http://www.eyeonsecurity.net
    >http://www.ipswitch.com
    >
    >
    >
    >Background.
    >
    >(extracted from
    >http://www.ipswitch.com/Products/IMail_Server/index.html)
    >
    >The 20-Minute E-Mail Solution.
    >IMail Server is an easy-to-use, web-enabled, secure and
    >spam-resistant
    >mail server for Windows NT/2000/XP. It is the choice
    >of businesses, schools, and service providers.
    >
    >A Great Price-Performer.
    >Unlike Microsoft® Exchange and Lotus® Notes, which are costly to
    >deploy and cumbersome to administer, IMail Server is easy
    >to install and easy to manage. It has a simple pricing structure and
    >is scalable to thousands of users per server.
    >
    >
    >Problem.
    >
    >When a user logs in to his account through the Web interface, the
    >session authentication is maintained via a unique URL.
    >By sending an html e-mail which includes an image at another server,
    >an attacker can easily get the unique URL via the
    >referer field in the HTTP header.
    >
    >
    >Exploit Example.
    >
    >http://eyeonsecurity.net/tools/referer.html
    >A CGI script sends an e-mail with an attached image, pointing to
    >another CGI script which sends the referer URL to the
    >attacker.
    >
    >
    >Fix
    >
    >Upgrade to IMail 7.06. The fixed version checks for the IP. The
    >authentication now relies on the unique URL and the IP
    >address. Of course users who log in to IMail Web interface from
    >behind
    >proxies, are still vulnerable.
    >
    >
    >ps. this same vulnerability effects Excite WebMail. The Excite guys
    >did not contact me back.
    >
    >
    >Disclaimer.
    >
    >The information within this document may change without notice. Use
    >of
    >this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS
    >condition. There are NO warranties with regard to this information.
    >In no event shall the author be liable for any consequences
    >whatsoever
    >arising out of or in connection with the use or spread of this
    >information. Any use of this information lays within the user's
    >responsibility.
    >
    >
    >Feedback.
    >
    >Please send suggestions, updates, and comments to:
    >
    >Eye on Security
    >mail :   obscureat_private
    >web  :   http://www.eyeonsecurity.net
    



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