CVE-2003-0285: Medium severity IBM AIX vulnerability
IBM AIX 5.2 and earlier distributes Sendmail with a configuration file (sendmail.cf) with the (1) promiscuousrelay, (2) acceptunresolvabledomains, and (3) acceptunqualifiedsenders features enabled, which allows Sendmail to be used as an open mail relay for sending spam e-mail.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Configuration
Edit /etc/mail/sendmail.cf and disable the promiscuous_relay feature (set promiscuous_relay to off) to prevent Sendmail from acting as an open relay.
Sendmail (sendmail.cf) promiscuous_relay = off - Configuration
Edit /etc/mail/sendmail.cf and disable the accept_unresolvable_domains feature (set accept_unresolvable_domains to off) to prevent relaying for unresolvable domains.
Sendmail (sendmail.cf) accept_unresolvable_domains = off - Configuration
Edit /etc/mail/sendmail.cf and disable the accept_unqualified_senders feature (set accept_unqualified_senders to off) to require fully-qualified sender addresses and prevent open relaying.
Sendmail (sendmail.cf) accept_unqualified_senders = off
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2003-0285?
CVE-2003-0285 is considered a high severity vulnerability due to its potential for exploitation as an open mail relay.
How do I fix CVE-2003-0285?
To fix CVE-2003-0285, disable the promiscuous_relay, accept_unresolvable_domains, and accept_unqualified_senders settings in the Sendmail configuration.
Which versions of IBM AIX are affected by CVE-2003-0285?
CVE-2003-0285 affects IBM AIX versions 5.2 and earlier.
What is the impact of CVE-2003-0285?
The impact of CVE-2003-0285 is that it allows unauthorized use of the Sendmail service for sending spam, leading to potential blacklisting of the server.
Is CVE-2003-0285 still relevant today?
While CVE-2003-0285 may not be a current threat due to improvements in later versions, systems running affected versions remain at risk if not updated.