CVE-2010-3706
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 · uneditedplugins/acl/acl-backend-vfile.c in Dovecot 1.2.x before 1.2.15 and 2.0.x before 2.0.5 interprets an ACL entry as a directive to add to the permissions granted by another ACL entry, instead of a directive to replace the permissions granted by another ACL entry, in certain circumstances involving the private namespace of a user, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions via a request to read or modify a mailbox.
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 vulnerability exists in Dovecot's ACL vfile backend (plugins/acl/acl-backend-vfile.c) where ACL entries for private namespaces are incorrectly interpreted as additive rather than as replacements. This allows authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions by gaining permissions beyond what was explicitly granted for their private mailbox namespace.
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= 1.2.0= 1.2.1= 1.2.2= 1.2.3= 1.2.4= 1.2.5= 1.2.6= 1.2.7= 1.2.8= 1.2.9= 1.2.10= 1.2.11CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/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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Check installed Dovecot versionRun `dovecot --version` or check the package version installed on the systemAffected if The version is between 1.2.0 and 1.2.11 inclusive
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Verify ACL plugin is loadedInspect the Dovecot configuration file (typically /etc/dovecot.conf or /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf) for the plugins section containing `acl`Affected if The ACL plugin is enabled and loaded by Dovecot
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Confirm vfile ACL backend is in useLook for `acl_driver = vfile` or the default vfile driver in the ACL plugin configuration sectionAffected if The vfile ACL driver is being used (this is the default and the affected backend)
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Identify private namespace ACL configurationsSearch the Dovecot configuration for `namespace` blocks marked as `private` that contain ACL-related settings (such as `acl` or `acl_file`)Affected if Private namespaces have ACL rules defined using the vfile backend
A system is affected if it runs Dovecot version 1.2.0-1.2.11 with the ACL plugin enabled using the vfile backend and has ACL rules configured on private namespaces.
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 dataUpgrade Dovecot to version 1.2.15 or later (for 1.2.x) or 2.0.5 or later (for 2.0.x). Review ACL configurations in private namespaces to ensure intended permissions after applying the patch.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3706 — 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-2010-3706 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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