CVE-2001-1280
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedPOP3 Server for Ipswitch IMail 7.04 and earlier generates different responses to valid and invalid user names, which allows remote attackers to determine users on the system.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe POP3 server in Ipswitch IMail 7.04 and earlier returns distinct error messages for valid versus invalid usernames during the authentication phase. This allows remote attackers to enumerate valid user accounts on the system by observing different response codes or messages, facilitating targeted password attacks against known-valid accounts.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 6.0.2= 6.0.6= 7.0.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Ipswitch IMail POP3 service is runningCheck running services or listening ports - look for POP3 daemon on port 110. Use netstat -an | grep 110 or check service status.Affected if POP3 service is exposed and accessible on the network
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Determine installed Ipswitch IMail versionCheck IMail version via registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ipswitch\IMail\Version or inspect the imail.exe file properties.Affected if Installed version is 6.0.2, 6.0.6, or 7.0.4 (exact matches per affected product list)
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Test POP3 authentication response for valid usernameConnect to POP3 service (port 110) and attempt AUTH or USER command with a known-valid account name (e.g., USER admin). Observe the response code returned.Affected if Server returns a response that confirms the username exists (e.g., +OK or specific message indicating valid user)
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Test POP3 authentication response for invalid usernameConnect to POP3 service and attempt AUTH or USER command with a clearly invalid/random username. Compare the response to step 3.Affected if Server returns a different response than it did for the valid username (e.g., -ERR for invalid vs +OK for valid, or different error messages)
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Verify username enumeration is possibleIf steps 3 and 4 produce measurably different responses that reveal account validity, the vulnerability is present. Test multiple known-valid and invalid usernames to confirm consistent pattern.Affected if Distinct responses consistently reveal which usernames are valid versus invalid on the system
User is affected if Ipswitch IMail POP3 server is running AND version is 6.0.2, 6.0.6, or 7.0.4 AND the server returns different authentication error messages for valid versus invalid usernames.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch or upgrade to a version where the POP3 server returns uniform responses for both valid and invalid usernames. Consider implementing rate limiting or account lockout policies to mitigate enumeration attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-1280 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2001-1280 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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