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Webmail MessengerApplication · Ciphermail

CVE-2022-28218

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered in CipherMail Webmail Messenger 1.1.1 through 4.1.4. A local attacker could access secret keys (found in a Roundcube configuration file) that are used to protect Webmail user passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).

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 confidence

A local attacker with access to the CipherMail server can read secret keys stored in a Roundcube configuration file in versions 1.1.1 through 4.1.4. These keys protect Webmail user passwords and two-factor authentication credentials, allowing the attacker to potentially decrypt or bypass authentication mechanisms.

MitigationRotate all exposed secret keys used for password and 2FA protection, restrict file permissions on configuration files to limit local access, and consider moving sensitive keys outside the web-accessible directory.

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
Webmail MessengerApplication
Affected:>= 1.1.1, < 4.2.1

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the installed version of CipherMail Webmail Messenger
    Run the command to retrieve the installed package version (for example: dpkg -l ciphermail-webmail-messenger or rpm -qi ciphermail-webmail-messenger, depending on your package manager). Compare the version number to the affected range: 1.1.1 through 4.1.4.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.7, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.1.12, or any version from 4.0.0 through 4.1.4 inclusive.
  2. Locate the Roundcube configuration file
    Identify the Roundcube configuration directory in your CipherMail Webmail installation. Common locations include /etc/roundcube, /opt/ciphermail/webmail/config, or within the webmail document root under config/. Look for the main.php or config.php file.
    Affected if Roundcube configuration file exists and contains secret key definitions (look for variables such as $rcmail_config['cipher'], $config['secret_key'], $rcmail_config['des_key'], or similar encryption-related configuration parameters).
  3. Inspect the configuration for exposed secret keys
    Open the Roundcube configuration file and search for encryption keys, DES keys, or secret keys used for password protection. Look for parameters like des_key, password encryption keys, or 2FA secret storage keys.
    Affected if The configuration file contains plaintext or base64-encoded secret keys used to protect Webmail user passwords and two-factor authentication credentials.
  4. Check file permissions on the configuration file
    Run ls -la on the Roundcube configuration file to inspect its permissions. Also check the parent directory permissions.
    Affected if The configuration file is readable by users other than the webmail service account (for example, permissions are 644 or more permissive, or the file is owned by a shared group with broad read access).

A user is affected if CipherMail Webmail Messenger version is between 1.1.1 and 4.1.4 inclusive AND the Roundcube configuration file containing secret encryption keys is accessible to unauthorized local users due to overly permissive file permissions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.2.1 or later
Fixed in 4.2.1
Interim mitigation

Rotate all exposed secret keys used for password and 2FA protection, restrict file permissions on configuration files to limit local access, and consider moving sensitive keys outside the web-accessible directory.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.2.1

  1. Download Webmail Messenger version 4.2.1 or later from the official CipherMail repository
  2. Stop the Webmail Messenger service
  3. Upgrade the installation to version 4.2.1 or newer using the standard upgrade procedure
  4. Restart the Webmail Messenger service
  5. Verify that the secret keys in the Roundcube configuration file are no longer world-readable by checking file permissions (should be 600 or similar restrictive permissions)
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes required between your current version and 4.2.1

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Webmail Messenger Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28218 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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