Pony MailApplication · Apache
CVE-2017-5658
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 · uneditedThe statistics generator in Apache Pony Mail 0.7 to 0.9 was found to be returning timestamp data without proper authorization checks. This could lead to derived information disclosure on private lists about the timing of specific email subjects or text bodies, though without disclosing the content itself. As this was primarily used as a caching feature for faster loading times, the caching was disabled by default to prevent this. Users using 0.9 should upgrade to 0.10 to address this issue.
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 confidenceApache Pony Mail versions 0.7-0.9 had an information disclosure vulnerability in the statistics generator, which returned timestamp data without proper authorization checks. This allowed attackers to potentially infer details about private mailing list activity by analyzing timing patterns of email subjects and bodies, though the actual content was not exposed.
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
Pony MailApplication
>= 0.7, <= 0.9CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 Apache Pony Mail installationLocate the Pony Mail installation directory and check for version indicators such as a VERSION file, setup.py version, or config file containing version infoAffected if The installed version is 0.7, 0.8, or 0.9 (any version from 0.7 through 0.9 inclusive)
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Determine exact version numberOpen the version file or query the installed package version using tools appropriate to the installation method (pip show, package manager, or version file contents)Affected if The version falls within the range >= 0.7 and <= 0.9
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Verify statistics generator is accessibleCheck if the statistics module or endpoint (typically at /stats or similar path depending on configuration) is enabled and reachable in the web interfaceAffected if The statistics generator endpoint is exposed and responds to requests without requiring authentication
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Confirm if caching is enabledInspect the Pony Mail configuration file (usually ponymail.cfg or similar) for caching settings. Look for options like 'cache_enabled' or 'cache_on' and verify whether they are set to disabled or falseAffected if Caching is currently enabled (the mitigation of disabling caching was not applied)
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Check for authentication on statistics endpointAttempt a request to the statistics endpoint or inspect server logs to determine whether the timestamp data is returned without requiring authentication or proper authorization checksAffected if The statistics endpoint returns timestamp data without authentication requirements
A user is affected if Apache Pony Mail version 0.7 through 0.9 is installed, the statistics generator feature is accessible, and the caching mitigation (disabling caching) was not applied.
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 to Apache Pony Mail 0.10 or later. The immediate mitigation of disabling caching was applied by default to prevent exploitation while users upgrade.
Fix this in Pony Mail
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5658 — 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-2017-5658 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data