CVE-2018-17542
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 · uneditedSQL Injection exists in MailSherlock before 1.5.235 for OAKlouds allows an unauthenticated user to extract the subjects of the emails of other users within the enterprise via the select_mid parameter in an letgo.cgi request.
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 confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in MailSherlock before version 1.5.235 allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious SQL queries through the select_mid parameter in letgo.cgi, enabling extraction of email subject lines from other users within the enterprise.
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< 1.5.235CVSS 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 MailSherlock installationLocate the MailSherlock installation directory or check running services that handle email auditing/monitoring. Look for the letgo.cgi script in the web root or CGI-bin directory.Affected if MailSherlock software is present on the system and letgo.cgi exists in a web-accessible location
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Determine installed MailSherlock versionCheck the MailSherlock software version through its administrative interface, or examine version information in the letgo.cgi script file or associated configuration files.Affected if The installed version is earlier than 1.5.235 (versions 1.5.235 and later contain the fix)
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Verify select_mid parameter exposureReview the letgo.cgi script source code to confirm it accepts a select_mid parameter. This parameter is the injection vector for the SQL flaw.Affected if The select_mid parameter exists in letgo.cgi without proper input sanitization
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Check web server exposureConfirm that letgo.cgi is accessible via HTTP/HTTPS from the network. This is an unauthenticated vulnerability, so external accessibility increases risk.Affected if letgo.cgi is reachable via web requests without authentication
The environment is affected if MailSherlock version is below 1.5.235 and the letgo.cgi script with the select_mid parameter is accessible.
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 data1.5.235
Upgrade to MailSherlock version 1.5.235 or later to obtain the vendor patch. As an interim control, consider deploying a WAF rule to block SQL injection patterns in the select_mid parameter until the upgrade can be completed.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17542 — 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-2018-17542 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data