#VU13970 Privilege escalation in Mutt - CVE-2018-14356

Vulnerability identifier: #VU13970

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-14356

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Mutt
Client/Desktop applications / Office applications

Vendor: Mutt.org

Description

The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper handling of a zero-length unique identifier (UID) by the pop.c code. A local attacker can manipulate the UID value assigned to an email message and cause the service to crash or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation
Update to version 1.10.1.

Vulnerable software versions

Mutt: 0.95.6 - 1.10.0

---

External links
https://www.mutt.org/news.html

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.