Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'CVE-2026-2469 is a vulnerability in the directorytree/imapengine package versions before 1.22.3. It arises from improper escaping of user input in the id() function within ImapConnection.php. Specifically, user-supplied strings are directly included in IMAP ID commands without proper sanitization, allowing attackers to inject special characters such as quote characters (") or CRLF sequences (\\r\\n).'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "This improper neutralization of special elements leads to an injection vulnerability where an attacker can insert arbitrary IMAP commands into the victim's mailbox session."}] [1, 4]

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Impact Analysis

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Exploiting this vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary IMAP commands on a victim's mailbox. This can lead to several impacts:"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Reading the victim's emails by injecting FETCH commands."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Deleting emails using STORE and EXPUNGE commands.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Terminating the victim's IMAP session via LOGOUT commands, causing denial of service."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Executing any valid IMAP command, potentially compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of mailbox data.'}] [1, 4]

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Detection of this vulnerability involves identifying whether the DirectoryTree/ImapEngine package version is prior to 1.22.3 and if the id() function in ImapConnection.php is used without proper escaping of user input.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'One practical approach is to monitor IMAP traffic for suspicious ID commands containing quote characters (") or CRLF sequences (\\r\\n) that could indicate injection attempts.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'A proof-of-concept involves sending crafted IMAP ID commands with injected payloads such as:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'evil"\\r\\nA999 FETCH 1 BODY[]\\r\\nA998 ID ("x'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'To detect exploitation attempts on your system, you can capture and analyze IMAP traffic using tools like tcpdump or Wireshark filtering for IMAP commands containing suspicious characters.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'tcpdump -i <interface> -A port 143 | grep -E \'ID|"|\\r\\n\''}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, reviewing application logs for unexpected IMAP commands or session terminations may help identify exploitation.'}] [1]

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Mitigation Strategies

The primary and immediate mitigation step is to upgrade the DirectoryTree/ImapEngine package to version 1.22.3 or later, where the vulnerability has been fixed by properly escaping user input in the id() function.

If upgrading immediately is not possible, consider applying the patch from the official pull request that introduces escaping of ID command parameters.

Additionally, restrict or sanitize any user input that is passed to the id() function to prevent injection of special characters such as quotes or CRLF sequences.

Monitoring and alerting on suspicious IMAP commands can also help mitigate the impact by detecting exploitation attempts early.

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