March 4, 2003 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — According to an alert released Monday by the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University (CERT.org), researchers at Internet Security Systems have identified a flaw in the popular Sendmail email software that could allow an attacker to take over a vulnerable server.
According to the alert, researchers discovered a buffer overflow vulnerability in the open source Sendmail Mail Transfer Agent, which they estimate handles 50 percent to 75 percent of all Internet email traffic.
An attacker who exploits the flaw could take over a vulnerable server running Sendmail, allowing them to disrupt email systems and affect the Internet with high traffic volumes or tamper with incoming and outgoing emails, said ISS researchers. The exploit can be delivered through an email message, and can not be defended against using a firewall or packet filter.
According to the CERT Coordination Center, the flaw affects systems running open-source Sendmail versions prior to 8.12.8, including Unix and Linux systems. It also affects commercial versions of the software, including Sendmail Switch, Sendmail Advanced Message Server and Sendmail for NT.
