Editing Sendmail (section)

==Security==
Sendmail originated in the early days of the Internet, an era when considerations of security did not play a primary role in the development of network software. Early versions of Sendmail suffered from a number of security vulnerabilities that have been corrected over the years.

Sendmail itself incorporated a certain amount of [[privilege separation]] in order to avoid exposure to security issues. {{As of| 2009}}, current versions of Sendmail, like other modern [[Message transfer agent|MTAs]], incorporate a number of security improvements and optional features that can be configured to improve security and help prevent abuse.

===History of vulnerabilities===
Sendmail vulnerabilities in CERT advisories and alerts:

* {{Cite web|title=TA06-081A Sendmail Race Condition Vulnerability|work=US-CERT Alerts|url=http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-081A.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060408201247/http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-081A.html| archive-date=2006-04-08}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-2003-25 Buffer Overflow in Sendmail|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 2003 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-25.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-25.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-2003-12 Buffer Overflow in Sendmail|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 2003 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-12.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-12.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-2003-07 Remote Buffer Overflow in Sendmail|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 2003 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-07.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-07.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-1997-05 MIME Conversion Buffer Overflow in Sendmail Versions 8.8.3 and 8.8.4|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 1997 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1997-05.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1997-05.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-1996-25 Sendmail Group Permissions Vulnerability|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 1996 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-25.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-25.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-1996-24 Sendmail Daemon Mode Vulnerability|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 1996 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-24.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-24.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web|title=CA-1996-20 Sendmail Vulnerabilities|work=CERT Advisories|date=31 December 1996 |url=http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-20.html| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211024/http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1996-20.html| archive-date=2021-10-24|access-date=January 7, 2005}}{{cbignore}}

The ''[[UNIX-HATERS Handbook]]'' dedicated an entire chapter to perceived problems and weaknesses of sendmail.