POP3 Cleartext Logins Permitted

high Nessus Plugin ID 15855

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Synopsis

The remote POP3 daemon allows credentials to be transmitted in cleartext.

Description

The remote host is running a POP3 daemon that allows cleartext logins over unencrypted connections. An attacker can uncover user names and passwords by sniffing traffic to the POP3 daemon if a less secure authentication mechanism (eg, USER command, AUTH PLAIN, AUTH LOGIN) is used.

Note: This plugin requires paranoid mode, and is prone to false positives.

Solution

Contact your vendor for a fix or encrypt traffic with SSL / TLS using stunnel.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 15855

File Name: pop3_unencrypted_cleartext_logins.nasl

Version: 1.23

Type: remote

Family: Misc.

Published: 11/30/2004

Updated: 7/5/2022

Configuration: Enable paranoid mode

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

CVSS Score Rationale: Score based on analysis of potential secuirty issues.

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Low

Base Score: 2.6

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS Score Source: manual

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.5

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Vulnerability Information

Required KB Items: Settings/ParanoidReport

Detections

Analytics