🪴 Quartz 4.0

SMTP

4 min read

  • is an old protocol that predates unix. follows the internet standards layed out in RFC 5321
  • port:
    • 25 (TCP) for sending emails
    • 587 for secure mail submission (with STARTTLS whatever that means)
    • 465 for SMTP over SSL
  • common smtp servers:
    • Postfix
    • Exim
    • Sendmail etc

terminal interaction with SMTP:

connect to the server:

telnet smtp.idk.com port
  • can connect with an IP instead as well
  • can use netcat instead as well

help:

HELP command
  • can do just HELP for a general help output or specify a command to get help for a specific command

upgrade to encrypted TLS on the same port:

STARTTLS

self identify (older):

HELO domain

self identify with server features (modern):

EHLO domain

login (two step):

AUTH LOGIN
input base64 uname
input base64 pass
  • look into single step login if you want. its called AUTH PLAIN
  • use AUTH CRAM-MD5 for more security if you want.

declare sender address:

MAIL FROM:<you@domain.com>

declare recipient:

RCPT TO:<them@example.com>

declare mail data:

DATA
<headers>
<blank line>
<body>
.
  • make sure to declare the sender and recipient first
  • SMTP DATA explanation
  • entering the singular . immediately ends the data block and sends the mail

clear mail transaction state and data:

RSET
  • clears the current mail transaction state without closing the session. basically all the MAIL FROM, MAIL TO and DATA that has been set gets reset. use it when necessary like in case of a mistake or if you need a clean slate like after a failed DATA becuase of size or syntax errors.
  • only resets the current envelope. not any already queued/authenticated state. and doesnt take any extra arguments either
  • the server should reply immediately with a 250 OK

ping the server:

NOOP
  • pings the server to see if its still there. doesnt do anything to the established session. the server should reply immediately with a 250 OK
  • use it to keep idle connections alive if you want or to do a health check before sending a mail or to do a latency test ig
  • all smtp servers support it. doesnt take any arguments just like RSET

verify a user on the server:

VRFY uname

start que delivery for a domain (mostly for older dial-up hosts):

ETRN domain
  • for intermittent links. basically after you’re online. you dial in, authenticate and then do ETRN to pull the mail queued up while you were offline

close session:

QUIT

stuff to look out for for exploitation vectors:

  • Log poisoning

    • CRLF or shell-meta injection in any header that lands in /var/log/maillog.
    • Look for: unescaped newlines or backticks in logs; unsafe rotation scripts.

  • Exim backdoor (CVE-2019-10149)

    • Remote root via crafted SMTP “RCPT TO” syntax on Exim < 4.92.3.
    • Look for: Exim version in EHLO banner; verify patch level.

  • Sendmail “pipe” aliases & .forward

    • Mail piping to /bin/sh or scripts via aliases or .forward.
    • Look for: writable aliases/.forward; suspicious pipe commands.

  • Procmail RC abuse

    • Malicious recipes in ~/.procmailrc that run commands on delivery.
    • Look for: world-writable home dirs; unusual “|” lines in procmail files.

  • Milter/content_filter exploits

    • AV/spam filters that shell out or misuse untrusted temp files.
    • Look for: external filter definitions in main.cf/master.cf; custom scripts.

  • Buffer overflows in MTA parsers

    • Old MTAs with CVEs in SMTP command handling.
    • Look for: version strings in banners; public CVE databases.

  • SMTP AUTH hash capture & relay

    • Grab CRAM-MD5/NTLM hashes and crack offline to send phishing or payload mails.
    • Look for: weak auth methods enabled; cleartext LOGIN allowed.

  • Webmail/frontend RCE

    • Roundcube, SquirrelMail or plugins vulnerable to file upload or injection.
    • Look for: outdated webmail versions; public exploit scripts.

  • VRFY/EXPN abuse for user enumeration

    • Map users to target custom Sieve/Shell filters or chained scripts.
    • Look for: VRFY/EXPN enabled in EHLO response.

  • Malformed MIME & downstream parsers

    • Craft multipart mails that trigger bugs in fetchmail, amavis, rspamd.
    • Look for: custom handlers in pipeline; unpatched CVEs in filter tools.

  • Banner & version grab

    • Check EHLO/SMTP banner for MTA type/version. Helps map CVEs. :)

  • Open-relay tests

    • Try sending from external→external addresses. If it relays, you’ve got a juicy abuse path. :3

  • TLS/STARTTLS config

    • Verify it won’t downgrade to SSLv2/3, weak ciphers, or allow NULL. Broken crypto can leak creds. :)

  • Certificate validation

    • Self-signed or expired certs can mean lazy ops, or let you MITM and extract auth tokens. :D

  • Default creds & user lists

    • Check common admin panels (webmail, MTA UI) with default logins. Also brute VRFY/EXPN as you noted. :)

  • DNS records (SPF/DKIM/DMARC)

    • Misconfigured or missing records can let you spoof or poison more easily. :)

  • Open submission ports

    • Port 587/465 might have different policies (auth vs relay) you can abuse. :)

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