CVE-2024-35187 CRITICAL

CVE-2024-35187: Stalwart Mail Server has privilege escalation by design

Vendor Stalwartlabs
Product mail-server
Weakness CWE-863 · Incorrect authorization
Published May 16, 2024
Last update August 2, 2024

CVSS base score

9.1/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required High
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

Stalwart Mail Server is an open-source mail server. Prior to version 0.8.0, attackers who achieved Arbitrary Code Execution as the stalwart-mail user (including web interface admins) can gain complete root access to the system. Usually, system services are run as a separate user (not as root) to isolate an attacker with Arbitrary Code Execution to the current service. Therefore, other system services and the system itself remains protected in case of a successful attack. stalwart-mail runs as a separate user, but it can give itself full privileges again in a simple way, so this protection is practically ineffective. Server admins who handed out the admin credentials to the mail server, but didn't want to hand out complete root access to the system, as well as any attacked user when the attackers gained Arbitrary Code Execution using another vulnerability, may be vulnerable. Version 0.8.0 contains a patch for the issue.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

May 16, 2024 CVE published
August 2, 2024 Record updated