Description
Dynamic variable evaluation vulnerability in compose.php in SquirrelMail 1.4.0 to 1.4.7 allows remote attackers to overwrite arbitrary program variables and read or write the attachments and preferences of other users.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 3.1 | squirrelmail | 2:1.4.4-9 | DSA-1154 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 4 | squirrelmail | 1.4.8-2.el4 | RHSA-2006:0668 |
| RHEL 3 | squirrelmail | 1.4.8-2.el3 | RHSA-2006:0668 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- SquirrelMail < 1.4.7 - Arbitrary Variable Overwrite EDB-43839 · webapps · Aug 11, 2016
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 2
- DSA-1154 squirrelmail - variable overwriting Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- RHSA-2006:0668 Red Hat Security Advisory: squirrelmail security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
References
- 21586 third-party-advisory
- https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-577
- ADV-2007-2732 vdb-entry
- DSA-1154 vendor-advisory
- 21354 third-party-advisory
- 22487 third-party-advisory
- 1016689 vdb-entry
- SUSE-SR:2006:023 vendor-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2007-07-31 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2006-3271 vdb-entry
- 21444 third-party-advisory
- squirrelmail-compose-variable-overwrite(28365) vdb-entry
- 22080 third-party-advisory
- 20060811 SquirrelMail issue is dynamic variable evaluation mailing-list
- 19486 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2006:0668 vendor-advisory
- http://www.squirrelmail.org/patches/sqm1.4.7-expired-post-fix-full.patch
- http://www.squirrelmail.org/security/issue/2006-08-11
- 22104 third-party-advisory
- 20060811 SquirrelMail 1.4.8 released - fixes variable overwriting attack mailing-list
- 20060811 rPSA-2006-0152-1 squirrelmail mailing-list
- 20060811 rPSA-2006-0152-1 squirrelmail mailing-list
- 27917 vdb-entry
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11533 vdb-entry signature
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306172
- 25159 vdb-entry
- MDKSA-2006:147 vendor-advisory
- 26235 third-party-advisory