CVE-2026-104660
Received Received - Intake

Authorization Bypass in hMailServer COM Objects

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-104660, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-10-08

Last updated on: 2026-10-08

Assigner: GitLab Inc.

Description

Missing authorization on COM objects in Progressive Robot hMailServer 6.0.0 through 6.3.5 (Windows only) lets a local interactive user with no hMailServer credential read and write arbitrary files as the service account and queue mail as any sender. The service registers its COM classes with no DCOM access or launch permission and calls CoInitializeSecurity with no security descriptor, so any user logged on at the console or over Remote Desktop can activate the classes in the running service; a hMailServer.Message, its Attachments and Attachment, and a hMailServer.FetchAccount created this way carry a credential that never authenticated. Attachments.Add(path) and Attachment.SaveAs(path) performed no authorization check, and Message.Save/Copy and FetchAccount.AccountID/Save performed none either up to 6.3.3 and from 6.3.4 treated a holder with no credential as the server's own event-script host. Because the service does not impersonate the COM caller, Attachments.Add reads any file the service account can read and returns it, Attachment.SaveAs writes attacker-chosen bytes to any path it can write (on a LocalSystem installation, code execution as SYSTEM), Message.Save queues outbound mail from any address past the SMTP checks, and FetchAccount attaches a mail-fetch job to any mailbox. The objects an Application handed out behave the same once a later Authenticate on that Application fails.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-08
Last Modified
2026-10-08
Generated
2026-10-08
AI Q&A
2026-10-08
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
Progressive Robot Ltd hMailServer 6.0.0

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-862 The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability affects hMailServer versions 6.0.0 to 6.3.5 on Windows. It occurs because the service registers COM classes without proper DCOM permissions and calls CoInitializeSecurity with no security descriptor. This allows any logged-in user, including Remote Desktop users, to create these COM objects in the running service. These objects carry unauthenticated credentials, enabling unauthorized actions like reading files, writing arbitrary bytes, queuing outbound mail from any sender, and attaching fetch jobs to any mailbox.

Detection Guidance

Check hMailServer version with 'hMailServer.exe -version' or via Control Panel. Review Windows Event Logs for unusual COM object activations or file access attempts. Use Process Monitor to monitor hMailServer.exe for unauthorized file operations or mail queue modifications.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local or Remote Desktop access could exploit this to read files accessible by the service account, write malicious files (potentially leading to SYSTEM-level code execution), send emails as any sender, or attach fetch jobs to any mailbox. On LocalSystem installations, this could result in full system compromise.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data (e.g., emails, files), violating confidentiality requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. Unauthorized mail sending or data exfiltration may also breach integrity and availability standards, potentially resulting in compliance violations and legal penalties.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade to hMailServer 6.3.6 or later. If unable to upgrade, restrict interactive logins to the server machine and disable Remote Desktop access for untrusted users. Set DCOM launch/access permissions on hMailServer's AppID to exclude INTERACTIVE users.

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