net-imap vulnerable to STARTTLS stripping via invalid response timing
### Summary A man-in-the-middle attacker can cause `Net::IMAP#starttls` to return "successfully", without starting TLS. ### Details When using `Net::IMAP#starttls` to upgrade a plaintext connection to use TLS, a man-in-the-middle attacker can inject a tagged `OK` response with an easily predictable tag. By sending the response before the client finishes sending the command, the command completes "successfully" before the response handler is registered. This allows `#starttls` to return without error, but the response handler is never invoked, the TLS connection is never established, and the socket remains unencrypted. This allows man-in-the-middle attackers to perform a STARTTLS stripping attack, unless the client code explicitly checks `Net::IMAP#tls_verified?`. ### Impact TLS bypass, leading to cleartext transmission of sensitive information. ### Mitigation * Upgrade to a patched version of net-imap that raises an exception whenever `#starttls` does not establish TLS. * Connect to an implicit TLS port, rather than use `STARTTLS` with a cleartext port. This is strongly recommended anyway: * [RFC 8314](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8314): Cleartext Considered Obsolete: Use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) for Email Submission and Access * [NO STARTTLS](https://nostarttls.secvuln.info/): Why TLS is better without STARTTLS, A Security Analysis of STARTTLS in the Email Context * Explicitly verify `Net::IMAP#tls_verified?` is `true`, before using the connection after `#starttls`.
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-42246US | high7.4 | — | ||
Net::IMAP implements Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) client functionality in Ruby. Prior to versions 0.3.10, 0.4.24, 0.5.14, and 0.6.4, a man-in-the-middle attacker can cau… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imapPACKAGE
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/commit/0ede4c40b1523dfeaf95777b2678e54cc0fd9618WEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/commit/24a4e770b43230286a05aa2a9746cdbb3eb8485eWEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/commit/97e2488fb5401a1783bddd959dde007d9fbce42cWEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/commit/f79d35bf5833f186e81044c57c843eda30c873daWEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/releases/tag/v0.3.10WEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/releases/tag/v0.4.24WEB
- https://github.com/ruby/net-imap/releases/tag/v0.5.14WEB
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