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Fix IMAP command injection and HTTP backend infinite loop#2360

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Fix IMAP command injection and HTTP backend infinite loop#2360
Hadi493 wants to merge 1 commit into
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Hadi493:master

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@Hadi493

@Hadi493 Hadi493 commented Jul 19, 2026

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Two security fixes:

  1. IMAP command injection in imap-send.c (HIGH)
    User-controlled strings (username, password, folder names) were passed
    directly into IMAP protocol commands via printf-style format strings
    without escaping. A value containing " or \r\n could break out of an
    IMAP quoted string or inject new commands. Fix by adding an
    imap_quote() helper that properly escapes per IMAP quoted-string
    rules, and using it for LOGIN, EXAMINE, CREATE, and APPEND commands.

  2. DoS via infinite loop in http-backend.c (HIGH)
    pipe_fixed_length() reads the request body in a while loop but never
    checks for xread() returning 0 (EOF). A client sending a
    Content-Length larger than the actual body followed by a connection
    close causes an infinite loop, hanging the git-http-backend process.
    Fix by treating early EOF as an error, matching the existing pattern
    in inflate_request().

Both compile cleanly. t5560, t5562 (http-backend tests) pass at 14/14
and 16/16 respectively.

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@gitgitgadget-git

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There is an issue in commit 919b744:
imap-send: escape user-controlled strings in IMAP commands

  • Commit not signed off

http-backend: fix infinite loop on early EOF

imap-send: user, password, folder, and mailbox names were interpolated
directly into IMAP protocol commands without escaping. A value containing
double quotes or CR/LF could break out of the quoted string or inject
arbitrary IMAP commands. Add imap_quote() helper that escapes backslash
and double-quote per IMAP quoted-string rules, and use it for LOGIN,
EXAMINE, CREATE, and APPEND commands.

http-backend: pipe_fixed_length() did not check for xread() returning 0
(EOF), so a client sending a Content-Length larger than the actual body
followed by a close would cause an infinite loop / denial of service.
Treat early EOF as an error, matching how inflate_request() handles it.

Signed-off-by: Hadi493 <hadialam493@gmail.com>
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