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Cyrus IMAP EUVDEUVD-2026-45009

| CVE-2026-47086 LOW
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)
2026-07-16 mitre GHSA-j6pg-f6px-vgh9
3.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: mitre
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate to Cyrus IMAP server
  2. Delivery
    Issue GENURLAUTH command naming target mailbox
  3. Exploit
    Receive URLAUTH token without ACL validation
  4. Execution
    Redeem token via URLFETCH for target mailbox
  5. Impact
    Read confidential mail content of victim user

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

The attacker must hold a valid authenticated IMAP session on a Cyrus IMAP server running version 3.12.2 or earlier (PR:L per CVSS vector). The URLAUTH/GENURLAUTH extension must be available on the server, which is standard in Cyrus IMAP and not a non-default configuration. The attacker must know or be able to guess the name of the target mailbox - IMAP mailbox names such as 'INBOX' or user-namespace paths (e.g., 'user/alice') are often predictable in practice. The AC:H rating in the CVSS vector indicates some complexity in exploitation conditions, potentially related to the multi-step token issuance and redemption process or specific server configuration nuances. Limiting factors: the attacker must be an authenticated user on the same Cyrus IMAP server (no unauthenticated exploitation path), impact is read-only (I:N, A:N - no modification or deletion of mail is possible via this path), and the scope is limited to mail content accessible through URLAUTH redemption. Non-default configurations do not appear to be required for exploitation.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N scores 3.5 (Low), driven primarily by AC:H and C:L. The scope-changed flag (S:C) reflects that the vulnerability crosses authorization boundaries - from the attacker's own security context into another user's mailbox - which is the most significant signal in the vector. The AC:H rating appears to account for the multi-step nature of URLAUTH token issuance and redemption, or the requirement that the attacker know a valid target mailbox name; however, in practice, IMAP mailbox names (particularly INBOX or user-namespace paths) are often predictable, and this complexity may be overstated. No EPSS data was provided in the input, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified from that signal. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV and no POC has been identified, placing active exploitation risk as low at time of analysis. Despite the low CVSS score, the real-world impact in shared IMAP deployments - where tenant isolation is a core security expectation - is meaningfully higher than the numeric score implies. Organizations running Cyrus IMAP as a multi-user or multi-tenant mail server should treat this as a medium-priority issue operationally, even if it formally scores Low.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An authenticated user on a shared Cyrus IMAP server - such as a student on a university mail system or an employee on a corporate IMAP platform - issues a GENURLAUTH command specifying a target mailbox belonging to another user (e.g., a colleague's INBOX or an administrative shared folder) whose name they know or can guess. The server, failing to enforce ACL validation, returns a valid URLAUTH token for that mailbox. The attacker then redeems this token - via URLFETCH or a compatible mechanism - to fetch message bodies from the target mailbox, reading confidential email without any granted permissions. No public proof-of-concept has been identified at time of analysis.

Monitor Track and reassess. Why: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 16, 2026

Unauthorized mailbox access in Cyrus IMAP through 3.12.2 allows any authenticated user to read email from mailboxes they have no ACL permissions on by exploiting the GENURLAUTH command's failure to enforce access controls before issuing URLAUTH tokens. The authorization boundary between mailboxes is effectively eliminated for any user who can name a target mailbox, undermining the server's entire multi-user isolation model. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, though the impact is materially more significant in multi-tenant or shared-server environments than the CVSS score of 3.5 suggests.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to Cyrus IMAP 3.12.3 or later, which resolves the GENURLAUTH ACL bypass per the vendor release notes at https://www.cyrusimap.org/3.12/imap/download/release-notes/3.12/x/3.12.3.html. If upgrading immediately is not feasible, consider disabling URLAUTH support in the Cyrus IMAP configuration if your environment does not rely on IMAP-to-SMTP BURL functionality - this eliminates the attack vector entirely but will break any clients or workflows that depend on RFC 4467 token-based message delegation. A further compensating control is to restrict authenticated IMAP access to only trusted internal users via firewall rules or Cyrus IMAP's access tier configuration, reducing the pool of potential attackers to those already trusted with server access. Consult the full release notes index at https://www.cyrusimap.org/imap/download/release-notes/index.html to determine if a patched release is available for your deployed branch. The fix version 3.12.3 is inferred from the reference URL rather than independently verified vendor advisory language - confirm against your package repository before deploying.

Affected VersionsENISA

Cyrus IMAP 0 <3.12.3

Affected Packages

euvd cyrus_imap fix: 3.12.3

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Cyrus IMAP (cyrus-imapd), identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:cyrusimap:cyrus_imap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, is an open-source IMAP server originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University and commonly deployed in academic, ISP, and enterprise mail environments. The URLAUTH extension (RFC 4467) allows authenticated users to generate opaque tokens granting delegated, time-limited access to specific messages - this feature is used by mechanisms such as BURL (RFC 4468) to pass message content between IMAP and SMTP servers without re-uploading data. The GENURLAUTH IMAP command is the mechanism by which a user requests such a token for a given mailbox and message. Correct behavior requires the server to verify that the requesting user holds at minimum read access on the target mailbox (per its ACL) before minting the token. The root cause - CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization) - is that this ACL enforcement step is absent or bypassed in versions through 3.12.2, meaning the server performs an authorization decision (granting a URLAUTH token) but does so without correctly evaluating whether the requester is entitled to access the named mailbox.

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Severity by source

Vendor (mitre) PRIMARY 3.5 LOW
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
vuln.today AI 5.0 MEDIUM

AC:L because issuing GENURLAUTH with a known mailbox name is straightforward for any authenticated user; AC:H in the official vector likely overstates complexity.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (mitre).

CVSS VectorVendor: mitre

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

1
Patch available
Jul 16, 2026 - 20:48 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

An issue was discovered in cyrus-imapd in Cyrus IMAP through 3.12.2. GENURLAUTH-issued tokens can bypass ACLs. Any authenticated user could mint a URLAUTH token (via the GENURLAUTH command) for any mailbox they could name, even without read access on it. This would allow reading mail from mailboxes despite having no granted permissions.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 93% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche open-source IMAP server, primarily academic and ISP deployments
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity LOW
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Low
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

18
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +18
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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