Severity: High
Title: GNU Mailutils: unexpected processsing of escape sequences
Date: October 19, 2023
Bugs: #802867
ID: 202310-13

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Synopsis
=======
A vulnerability has been discovered in Mailutils where escape sequences
are processed in a context where this may lead to RCE.

Background
=========
GNU Mailutils is a collection of mail-related utilities, including an
IMAP4 server (imap4d) and a Mail User Agent (mail).

Affected packages
================
Package Vulnerable Unaffected
------------------ ------------ ------------
net-mail/mailutils < 3.12-r3 >= 3.12-r3

Description
==========
A vulnerability has been discovered in GNU Mailutils. Please review the
CVE identifier referenced below for details.

Impact
=====
mail(1) from mailutils would process escape sequences (like ~!
shellcommand) in message bodies piped/redirected in. This creates an RCE
if some part of the message body is under an attacker's control.

Workaround
=========
There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
=========
All Mailutils users should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-mail/mailutils-3.12-r3"

References
=========
[ 1 ] CVE-2021-32749
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32749

Availability
===========
This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at
the Gentoo Security Website:

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202310-13

Concerns?
========
Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the
confidentiality and security of our users' machines is of utmost
importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to
[email protected] or alternatively, you may file a bug at
https://bugs.gentoo.org.

License
======
Copyright 2023 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text
belongs to its owner(s).

The contents of this document are licensed under the
Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5