CVE-2019-3814 Auth bypass in dovecot

High 7.7 Published 27 Mar 2019 Updated 4 Aug 2024

Remote attackers with valid certificates containing empty usernames can impersonate other users on Dovecot servers.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: An administrator
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2019-3814?

CVE-2019-3814 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 27 Mar 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

Official description

It was discovered that Dovecot before versions 2.2.36.1 and 2.3.4.1 incorrectly handled client certificates. A remote attacker in possession of a valid certificate with an empty username field could possibly use this issue to impersonate other users.

Weakness: CWE-295

Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-3814?

It affects 3 products.

Linux distribution packages (17)

`dovecot` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-mysql` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pgsql` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pgsql-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pigeonhole` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pigeonhole-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pgsql-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot-pigeonhole-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb	All versions	`1:2.2.36-10.el8`
`dovecot23` SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15	All versions	`2.3.3-4.7.4`

Products include Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Dovecot Dovecot, Opensuse Leap.

How do I fix CVE-2019-3814?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.

Is CVE-2019-3814 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3814 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Canonical Ubuntu Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2019-3814, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-3814, DLA-1667-1, DSA-4385-1, GHSA-2727-qgh5-485g, MGASA-2019-0072 and 5 more.