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Axigen Mail ServerApplication · Axigen

CVE-2023-23566

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A 2-Step Verification problem in Axigen 10.3.3.52 allows an attacker to access a mailbox by bypassing 2-Step Verification when they try to add an account to any third-party webmail service (or add an account to Outlook or Gmail, etc.) with IMAP or POP3 without any verification code.

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

Axigen 10.3.3.52 contains a 2-Step Verification bypass vulnerability where IMAP and POP3 connections from third-party email clients (Outlook, Gmail, other webmail services) bypass the configured 2FA mechanism entirely, allowing attackers with stolen credentials to access mailboxes without any verification code.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched Axigen version as provided by the vendor; if no patch is available, consider restricting IMAP/POP3 access to trusted IPs or implementing additional authentication controls at the network perimeter.

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
Axigen Mail ServerApplication
Affected:= 10.3.3.52

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

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

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. Identify the installed Axigen Mail Server version
    Use the Axigen admin interface, command-line tools, or check the product installation details to determine the exact version number of the installed Axigen Mail Server
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 10.3.3.52 (no other versions are affected by this CVE)
  2. Confirm 2-Step Verification is configured
    Access the Axigen admin panel and navigate to the authentication or security settings to verify whether 2FA/2-Step Verification has been enabled for user accounts
    Affected if 2-Step Verification is enabled; if 2FA is not configured, the bypass has no effect
  3. Verify IMAP service is enabled and accessible
    Check the Axigen service configuration to determine if the IMAP protocol service is running and exposed to clients
    Affected if IMAP service is enabled and accessible to external or untrusted clients; the bypass only affects IMAP connections from third-party email clients
  4. Verify POP3 service is enabled and accessible
    Check the Axigen service configuration to determine if the POP3 protocol service is running and exposed to clients
    Affected if POP3 service is enabled and accessible to external or untrusted clients; the bypass only affects POP3 connections from third-party email clients

A user is affected if they have Axigen version 10.3.3.52 installed, have 2-Step Verification enabled, and have IMAP or POP3 services exposed to third-party email clients (Outlook, webmail, or other external clients).

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched Axigen version as provided by the vendor; if no patch is available, consider restricting IMAP/POP3 access to trusted IPs or implementing additional authentication controls at the network perimeter.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable Axigen Mail Server release (version > 10.3.3.52)

  1. Identify the current Axigen Mail Server version by checking the administration interface or running: axigen --version
  2. Backup the current Axigen configuration and mail data before proceeding with any upgrade
  3. Download the latest stable Axigen Mail Server release from the official Axigen website (www.axigen.com) or their official GitHub repository
  4. Stop the Axigen service using: systemctl stop axigen or service axigen stop
  5. Install the new version using the appropriate package manager or installer for your operating system
  6. Start the Axigen service using: systemctl start axigen or service axigen start
  7. Verify the new version is running: axigen --version
  8. Test 2-Step Verification functionality by attempting to add the account to a third-party client (Outlook, Gmail webmail, etc.) via IMAP/POP3 to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes or migration requirements between versions; test in staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Axigen Mail Server 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
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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-2023-23566 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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