CVE-2004-2520

Vulnerability

Gattaca Server 2003 version 1.1.10.0 contains a denial-of-service vulnerability in its POP3 protocol handler. The LIST, RETR, and UIDL commands do not properly validate the size of numeric arguments supplied by the client. Sending an abnormally large integer value (e.g., a number exceeding the server's expected range) triggers an application crash. The issue is described in Secunia advisory SA12071 [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must already possess a valid POP3 account and be able to authenticate to the server. After login, the attacker sends one of the affected commands (LIST, RETR, or UIDL) followed by an extremely large numeric argument. No special network position beyond standard POP3 client access is required; the attack can be executed over a remote connection without any race window or additional user interaction [1].

Impact

A successful attack causes the POP3 service to crash, resulting in a denial of service for all users relying on that service. The crash does not lead to information disclosure, privilege escalation, or code execution; the impact is strictly availability [1].

Mitigation

At the time of disclosure (December 2004), no vendor patch or workaround was publicly documented. The status of Gattaca Server 2003 beyond release 1.1.10.0 is unclear, and the product may be end-of-life. If the software is still in use, administrators should restrict network access to the POP3 port (typically TCP/110) to only trusted users and consider migrating to an actively maintained mail server solution [1].