Vulnerability Database

389,860

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2008-4578 — dovecot / dovecot

Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

The ACL plugin in Dovecot before 1.1.4 allows attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by using the "k" right to create unauthorized "parent/child/child" mailboxes.

  • Published: Oct 15, 2008
  • Updated: Sep 25, 2026
  • CVE: CVE-2008-4578
  • Severity: Medium
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v2:

  • Severity: Medium
  • Score: 5
  • AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

CWEs:

Software Affected versions
dovecot / dovecot <= 1.1.3
dovecot / dovecot = 0.99.13
dovecot / dovecot = 0.99.14
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.2
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.3
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.4
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.5
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.6
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.7
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.8
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.9
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.10
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.12
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta1
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta2
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta3
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta4
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta5
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta6
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta7
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta8
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.beta9
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc1
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc2
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc3
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc4
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc5
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc6
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc7
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc8
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc9
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc10
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc11
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc12
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc13
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc14
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc15
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc16
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc17
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc18
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc19
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc20
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc21
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc22
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc23
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc24
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc25
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc26
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc27
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0.rc28
dovecot / dovecot = 1.0_rc29
dovecot / dovecot = 1.1
dovecot / dovecot = 1.1-rc2
dovecot / dovecot = 1.1.0
dovecot / dovecot = 1.1.1
dovecot / dovecot = 1.1.2

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.