CVE-2010-3707
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 more specific entries that occur after less specific entries, 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 Dovecot ACL backend (acl-backend-vfile.c) incorrectly interprets ACL entries as additive rather than replacement when processing more specific entries that appear after less specific entries. This allows an authenticated user to bypass intended access restrictions by exploiting the order-dependent ACL evaluation logic.
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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Determine installed Dovecot versionRun `dovecot --version` or check the package manager (e.g., `rpm -q dovecot` or `dpkg -l dovecot`)Affected if The installed version is 1.2.0 through 1.2.11 inclusive
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Verify ACL plugin is enabledCheck the Dovecot configuration file (typically /etc/dovecot.conf or /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf) for the ACL plugin in the mail_plugins or protocol imap sectionAffected if ACL plugin is loaded and the vfile backend is in use (plugin { acl = vfile })
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Locate ACL control filesExamine the Dovecot configuration for the ACL vfile path setting (typically `acl_shared_dict` or looking in the mail directory structure under the control or mailbox directories for .dovecot.acl files)Affected if ACL files exist and are being used to control access
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Inspect ACL entry ordering in control filesOpen the ACL control files (commonly found in the mail directory or path specified in dovecot configuration) and examine the order of entries, noting whether more specific entries (e.g., user-specific) appear after less specific entries (e.g., group or default entries)Affected if More specific ACL entries appear after less specific ones, allowing additive rather than replacement behavior to be exploited
You are affected if Dovecot version is between 1.2.0 and 1.2.11 inclusive, the ACL vfile backend is enabled, and your ACL configuration contains more specific entries that appear after less specific ones in the control files.
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 2.0.5 or later. As a compensating control, carefully audit ACL configurations to ensure more specific entries precede less specific ones in the vfile.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA5.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3707 — 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-2010-3707 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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