Description
Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in (1) University of Washington IMAP Toolkit 2002 through 2007c, (2) University of Washington Alpine 2.00 and earlier, and (3) Panda IMAP allow (a) local users to gain privileges by specifying a long folder extension argument on the command line to the tmail or dmail program; and (b) remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending e-mail to a destination mailbox name composed of a username and '+' character followed by a long string, processed by the tmail or possibly dmail program.
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 12 | uw-imap | 7:2007d~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | uw-imap | 2007b~dfsg-4+lenny1 | DTSA-174-2, DTSA-174-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | uw-imap | 7:2002edebian1-13.1+etch1 | DSA-1685-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 3 | imap +2 | 1:2002d-15 | RHSA-2009:0275 |
Advisories 4
- RHSA-2009:0275 Red Hat Security Advisory: imap security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1685-1 uw-imap - multiple vulnerabilities Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-174-2 uw-imap - several vulnerabilities Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-174-1 uw-imap - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10485 vdb-entry signature
- http://panda.com/imap/
- [oss-security] 20081103 CVE request - uw-imap mailing-list
- FEDORA-2008-9396 vendor-advisory
- http://www.bitsec.com/en/rad/bsa-081103.txt
- http://www.bitsec.com/en/rad/bsa-081103.c
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2009-065.htm
- [oss-security] 20081103 Re: CVE request - uw-imap mailing-list
- http://www.washington.edu/alpine/tmailbug.html
- 4570 third-party-advisory
- 20081103 Bitsec Security Advisory: UW/Panda IMAP [dt]mail buffer overflow mailing-list
- [imap-uw] 20081031 Security bug in tmail and dmail mailing-list
- DSA-1685 vendor-advisory
- 32483 third-party-advisory
- 32072 vdb-entry
- uwimapd-tmail-bo(46281) vdb-entry
- 33142 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2008-9383 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=469667
- RHSA-2009:0275 vendor-advisory
- 20081103 Bitsec Security Advisory: UW/Panda IMAP [dt]mail buffer overflow mailing-list
- [imap-uw] 20081031 Security bug in tmail and dmail mailing-list
- 33996 third-party-advisory
- MDVSA-2009:146 vendor-advisory
- 32512 third-party-advisory
- [oss-security] 20081103 Re: CVE request - uw-imap mailing-list
- ADV-2008-3042 vdb-entry
- 1021131 vdb-entry