MDaemon Insecure Default Directory Permissions

Advisory Content :

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Secunia Research 16/11/2006

- MDaemon Insecure Default Directory Permissions -

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Table of Contents

Affected Software....................................................1
Severity.............................................................2
Vendor's Description of Software.....................................3
Description of Vulnerability.........................................4
Solution.............................................................5
Time Table...........................................................6
Credits..............................................................7
References...........................................................8
About Secunia........................................................9
Verification........................................................10

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1) Affected Software

* MDaemon 9.0.5, 9.0.6, 9.51, and 9.53.

NOTE: Other versions may also be affected.

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2) Severity

Rating: Less critical
Impact: Privilege Escalation
Where: Local system

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3) Vendor's Description of Software

"Now featuring spam traps, custom scheduling, email queuing, and a host
of other new features and enhancements. MDaemon email server for
Windows is the best choice for managing your organization's messaging
and collaboration infrastructure.".

Product Link:
http://www.altn.com/Products/Default.asp?product_id=MDaemon

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4) Description of Vulnerability

Secunia Research has discovered a security issue in MDaemon, which can
be exploited by malicious, local users to gain escalated privileges.

The problem is caused due to the application by default being
installed in the "MDaemon" folder in the system root with insecure
permissions (granting members of the "Users" group permissions to
create files and directories). This can be exploited by e.g. placing
a malicious RASAPI32.DLL or MPRAPI.DLL library in the "MDaemonAPP"
directory.

Successful exploitation allows execution of arbitrary code with SYSTEM
privileges.

NOTE: This is a general problem for the majority of Windows
applications when installed outside the "Program Files" folder due to
the way libraries are located.

Also, fans of "Colossal Cave Adventure" should try sending the
commands: "XYZZ" and "PLUG" to the POP3 service or "XYZZY" and "PLUGH"
to the ODMR service (port 366/TCP).

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5) Solution

Set secure permissions on the directory or install in the "Program
Files" folder (according to the vendor, this should not have an impact
on the functionality of the application).

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6) Time Table

29/08/2006 - Vendor notified.
31/08/2006 - Vendor response.
24/10/2006 - Vendor issues version 9.5.0, which does not address the
security issue correctly (just checks for the presence of
RASAPI32.DLL in the application folder).
26/10/2006 - Vendor contacted again.
31/10/2006 - Vendor response.
16/11/2006 - Public disclosure.

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7) Credits

Discovered by Secunia Research.

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8) References

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has not
currently assigned a CVE identifier for the security issue.

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9) About Secunia

Secunia offers vulnerability management solutions to corporate
customers with verified and reliable vulnerability intelligence
relevant to their specific system configuration:

http://corporate.secunia.com/

Secunia also provides a publicly accessible and comprehensive advisory
database as a service to the security community and private
individuals, who are interested in or concerned about IT-security.

http://secunia.com/

Secunia believes that it is important to support the community and to
do active vulnerability research in order to aid improving the
security and reliability of software in general:

http://corporate.secunia.com/secunia_research/33/

Secunia regularly hires new skilled team members. Check the URL below to
see currently vacant positions:

http://secunia.com/secunia_vacancies/

Secunia offers a FREE mailing list called Secunia Security Advisories:

http://secunia.com/secunia_security_advisories/

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10) Verification

Please verify this advisory by visiting the Secunia website:
http://secunia.com/secunia_research/2006-67/

Complete list of vulnerability reports published by Secunia Research:
http://secunia.com/secunia_research/

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MDaemon Insecure Default Directory Permissions