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Improper Authentication

CVE-2020-28896

Medium
5.3/10

Summary

Mutt before 2.0.2 and NeoMutt before 2020-11-20 did not ensure that $ssl_force_tls was processed if an IMAP server's initial server response was invalid. The connection was not properly closed, and the code could continue attempting to authenticate. This could result in authentication credentials being exposed on an unencrypted connection, or to a machine-in-the-middle.

  • HIGH
  • NETWORK
  • NONE
  • UNCHANGED
  • REQUIRED
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • NONE

CWE-287 - Improper Authentication

Improper (or broken) authentication attacks are widespread, and have accounted for many of the worst data breaches in recent years. Improper authentication attacks are a class of vulnerabilities where an attacker impersonates a legitimate user by exploiting weaknesses in either session management or credential management to gain access to the user’s account. This can result in disclosure of sensitive information, and can lead to system compromise, theft, identity theft, and fraud.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published