1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-593-1

USN-593-1: Dovecot vulnerabilities

Publication date

26 March 2008

Overview

Dovecot vulnerabilities

Releases

Packages

Details

It was discovered that the default configuration of dovecot could allow
access to any email files with group “mail” without verifying that a user
had valid rights. An attacker able to create symlinks in their mail
directory could exploit this to read or delete another user’s email.
(CVE-2008-1199)

By default, dovecot passed special characters to the underlying
authentication systems. While Ubuntu releases of dovecot are not known
to be vulnerable, the authentication routine was proactively improved
to avoid potential future problems. (CVE-2008-1218)

It was discovered that the default configuration of dovecot could allow
access to any email files with group “mail” without verifying that a user
had valid rights. An attacker able to create symlinks in their mail
directory could exploit this to read or delete another user’s email.
(CVE-2008-1199)

By default, dovecot passed special characters to the underlying
authentication systems. While Ubuntu releases of dovecot are not known
to be vulnerable, the authentication routine was proactively improved
to avoid potential future problems. (CVE-2008-1218)

Update instructions

After a standard system upgrade, additional dovecot configuration changes are needed.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

ATTENTION: Due to an unavoidable configuration update, the dovecot settings in /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf need to be updated manually. During the update, a configuration file conflict will be shown. The default setting “mail_extra_groups = mail” should be changed to “mail_privileged_group = mail”. If your local configuration uses groups other than “mail”, you may need to use the new “mail_access_groups” setting as well.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
7.10 gutsy dovecot-pop3d –  1:1.0.5-1ubuntu2.2
dovecot-common –  1:1.0.5-1ubuntu2.2
dovecot-imapd –  1:1.0.5-1ubuntu2.2
7.04 feisty dovecot-pop3d –  1.0.rc17-1ubuntu2.3
dovecot-common –  1.0.rc17-1ubuntu2.3
dovecot-imapd –  1.0.rc17-1ubuntu2.3
6.10 edgy dovecot-pop3d –  1.0.rc2-1ubuntu2.3
dovecot-common –  1.0.rc2-1ubuntu2.3
dovecot-imapd –  1.0.rc2-1ubuntu2.3
6.06 dapper dovecot-pop3d –  1.0.beta3-3ubuntu5.6
dovecot-common –  1.0.beta3-3ubuntu5.6
dovecot-imapd –  1.0.beta3-3ubuntu5.6

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

Get Ubuntu Pro

References

Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›