CVE-2021-44026
📋 TL;DR
This SQL injection vulnerability in Roundcube webmail allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via search or search_params parameters. It affects all Roundcube installations before version 1.3.17 and 1.4.x before 1.4.12. Attackers could potentially access, modify, or delete email database contents.
💻 Affected Systems
- Roundcube Webmail
📦 What is this software?
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Webmail by Roundcube
Webmail by Roundcube
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of email database including reading, modifying, or deleting all emails, user credentials, and configuration data; potential privilege escalation to system access.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to email contents, user information, and potentially authentication data stored in the database.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if database user has minimal privileges and proper input validation is enforced at other layers.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authentication to Roundcube. SQL injection is well-understood with many available tools.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.3.17 or 1.4.12
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/security/advisories
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your Roundcube installation and database. 2. Download latest version from roundcube.net. 3. Replace existing files with new version. 4. Run update script if database schema changed. 5. Verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Search Functionality
allTemporarily disable search features to prevent exploitation while patching.
# Edit Roundcube config.inc.php and add: $config['enable_search'] = false;
Web Application Firewall Rules
linuxAdd WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns in search parameters.
# Example ModSecurity rule: SecRule ARGS "(?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|--|#)" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQLi attempt'"
# For nginx: location ~* \.php$ { set $block_sqli 0; if ($args ~* "(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|--|#)") { set $block_sqli 1; } if ($block_sqli = 1) { return 403; } }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries at application layer
- Restrict database user permissions to minimum required (SELECT only if possible)
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Roundcube version in program/include/iniset.php or via admin interface. If version is <1.3.17 or 1.4.x <1.4.12, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
grep -r "RCMAIL_VERSION" /path/to/roundcube/program/include/iniset.php | head -1Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 1.3.17 or higher, or 1.4.12 or higher. Test search functionality with SQL injection payloads (e.g., ' OR '1'='1) to ensure they are blocked.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL errors in web server logs
- Multiple failed search attempts with SQL syntax
- Long or unusual search parameter values
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to search endpoints with SQL keywords in parameters
- Unusual database query patterns from web server
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url="*/mail*" OR url="*/search*") AND (query="*union*" OR query="*select*" OR query="*insert*" OR query="*update*" OR query="*delete*" OR query="*drop*" OR query="*--*" OR query="*#*")🔗 References
- https://bugs.debian.org/1000156
- https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/commit/c8947ecb762d9e89c2091bda28d49002817263f1
- https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/commit/ee809bde2dcaa04857a919397808a7296681dcfa
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/12/msg00004.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NDVGIZMQJ5IOM47Y3SAAJRN5VPANKTKO/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TP3Y5RXTUUOUODNG7HFEKWYNIPIT2NL4/
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5013
- https://bugs.debian.org/1000156
- https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/commit/c8947ecb762d9e89c2091bda28d49002817263f1
- https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/commit/ee809bde2dcaa04857a919397808a7296681dcfa
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/12/msg00004.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NDVGIZMQJ5IOM47Y3SAAJRN5VPANKTKO/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TP3Y5RXTUUOUODNG7HFEKWYNIPIT2NL4/
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5013
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-44026
