# Vulnerability Discovery

> Guides for testing weak IMAP auth and cleartext credential risks

- **URL:** https://hackindex.io/services/imap/vulnerability-discovery
- **Service:** [IMAP](https://hackindex.io/services/imap.md)
- **Tags:** vulns, misconfig, risk
- **Published:** 2026-03-29
- **Updated:** 2026-03-29

IMAP vulnerability discovery identifies the configuration weaknesses that make mail server exploitation possible. Plaintext authentication without TLS is the most critical finding: credentials sent in cleartext are trivially intercepted.

Missing or optional STARTTLS, weak credential policies (no lockout, no complexity requirements), and servers accepting LOGIN over unencrypted connections are all common findings. Version-specific vulnerabilities in Dovecot, Courier, and other implementations may also apply.

The subpages cover TLS configuration checks, authentication policy analysis, and version-based vulnerability matching.

## Guides

- [IMAP Weak Authentication Testing](https://hackindex.io/services/imap/vulnerability-discovery/imap-weak-authentication.md)