APOP Protocol Password Guessing Vulnerability in balsa
Summary
CVE-2007-1558: The APOP protocol allows remote attackers to guess the first 3 characters of a password via man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks that use crafted message IDs and MD5 collisions. Affects balsa versions < 2.3.17-1. Fixed in 2.3.17-1. How to fix ↓
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Background
Balsa is an email client that provides a user-friendly interface for managing emails. It is commonly used on Debian systems. The APOP protocol is used by Balsa for authentication purposes.
Vulnerability Detail
The APOP protocol used by Balsa is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks that allow remote attackers to guess the first 3 characters of a password. This is possible due to crafted message IDs and MD5 collisions. The vulnerability affects multiple products that use APOP, including Thunderbird, Evolution, mutt, fetchmail, SeaMonkey, and Mailfilter. The impact of this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized access to email accounts.
How To Fix
Minimum fixed version
2.3.17-1
This is the first release that contains the fix.
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade balsaTip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is recommended to update Balsa to the latest version.
Conclusion
The APOP protocol password guessing vulnerability in Balsa can lead to unauthorized access to email accounts. It is important to update Balsa to the latest version to mitigate this vulnerability. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for balsa →
FAQ
The APOP protocol is an authentication mechanism used by email clients to securely authenticate users with a mail server.
The vulnerability allows an attacker to perform man-in-the-middle attacks and use crafted message IDs and MD5 collisions to guess the first 3 characters of a password.
The vulnerability affects multiple products, including Thunderbird, Evolution, mutt, fetchmail, SeaMonkey, and Mailfilter.
The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized access to email accounts.
To protect your system, it is recommended to update Balsa to version 2.3.17-1 or later.
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