Vulnerability Note VU#576996

NuPoint Messenger server transmits authentication credentials in plain text

Overview

NuPoint Messenger is a unified communications product that connects to a Microsoft Exchange server. When communicating with the mail server the NuPoint Messenger server transmits Exchange usernames and passwords in cleartext.

I. Description

The NuPoint Messenger server can connect to a Microsoft Exchange server via the IMAP or MAPI protocols. During the authentication process, the NuPoint server will send user domain authentication credentials in cleartext to the Exchange server. Older versions of the NuPoint Messenger product may transmit the NuPoint server's root password without encryption instead of individual usernames and passwords. Administrators are encouraged review the "NuPoint communication with MS Exchange" document for more information.

II. Impact

An attacker with access to network data may be able to obtain domain (Exchange) usernames and passwords.

III. Solution

There is no solution to this issue. Administrators are encourgaed to review the below workarounds to mitigate the impact of this vulnerability.

Encrypt connections between NuPoint and Exchange Servers

• If the MAPI protocol is enabled, connections from the NuPoint server will be encrypted.
• Using IPSec or some other VPN technology to encrypt the connection between the NuPoint and Exchange server will mitigate this vulnerability.

Restrict access

The NuPoint Messenger server should not use IMAP to connect to remote Exchange servers. If IMAP is enabled, the NuPoint server should be directly connected to the same isolated network as the Exchange server that it is communicating with.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Mitel Networks, Inc.	Vulnerable	2009-04-30	2009-05-05

References

http://www.mitel.com/resources/NuPoint_and_Exchange.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messaging_Application_Programming_Interface&oldid=276195526

Credit

Simon Laurin of Simon Laurin Services-Conseils inc. reported this issue and provided valuable feedback. Mitel provided technical information that was used in this report.

This document was written by Ryan Giobbi.

Other Information

Date Public:	2008-12-04
Date First Published:	2009-05-06
Date Last Updated:	2009-05-06
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):
NVD-ID(s):
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	1.80
Document Revision:	23