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LWN.net Weekly Edition for August 15, 2002
Engage with government - or ignore it?
There is no doubt that much of what is going on in legislative systems worldwide is hostile to both free software and the larger principles of fair use of ideas and copyrighted works. Laws like the DMCA or the upcoming UK copyright law ban the writing of programs which provide "unauthorized" access to legitimately purchased materials. Proposed laws like the CBDTPA (seen defined as "Consume, But Don't Try Programming Anything") could outlaw broad classes of free software outright. There is clearly cause to worry. But what should we do about these threats?Columnist Dan Gillmor tells us to get involved and pressure government for better laws:
Mr. Gillmor tells us that we need to "reeducate" Congress and press technology companies to be more assertive about the rights and needs of its customers, rather than those of big media. With enough political pressure, our rights can be preserved.
Before going off to pressure Congress (or Parliament, or whatever), though, it is worth taking a look at another view. Declan McCullagh, who has covered Congress and technology for years, has recently posted a column questioning the value of the political path:
His suggestion, instead, is to take the classic cypherpunk approach: write code.
He has a point: had Phillip Zimmermann not written PGP when he did, the battle for the right to use strong encryption may well have been lost a decade ago.
In general, the wide diffusion of technology makes it harder to outlaw or control that technology. In 1990, it might just have been possible to pass a CBDTPA-like law which would have made the distribution of free operating systems impossible. In 2002, Linux and *BSD are everywhere, serving many critical functions; outlawing them is not a practical possiblity. Hackers should, indeed, be creating and distributing code. Getting that code out where it can not be recalled is an important activity for the defense of our freedom.
But wouldn't it be a nicer world if free software hackers did not need to fear arrest and incarceration for releasing the wrong code? Wouldn't it be better if copyright law were to swing back toward the longstanding values of fair use, first sale, and compromise between control and the free exchange of ideas? To claim that the only worthwhile work is writing code is to see the future as a sort of guerilla war against an entrenched copyright regime. This does not sound like a fun future, and it should not be seen as inevitable.
Sustained political effort can yield results. But success requires engaging and interest and support of a large number of people. Governmental representatives can easily ignore the noise from a small group of concerned programmers; they need to hear from a wider constituency before they will pay attention. Somehow we need to get Aunt Tillie worried about copyright law. That is going to be a difficult task, but it's an important one.
The Digital Software Security Act
One example of engagement with government is the Digital Software Security Act (DSSA), which is proposed for enactment in the state of California. This bill is strongly supported by Red Hat, to the point that CTO Michael Tiemann is leading a march to the San Francisco city hall on August 15. The law may look good at a first glance, but it is not clear that this is really the best way to promote the free software cause.The DSSA is strict and unambiguous in its requirements. If a given software package does not come with source, and the ability to modify and redistribute that source, the state of California would not be able to buy it. If no suitable open source package exists for, say, the management of mineral rights or the operation of automated tollbooths, then state would simply have to do without. Chances are, some of the operations of the state of California would be adversely affected by this law.
The proposed law is extreme, and its chances of passage are minimal. Which is just as well. Imagine the backlash that would result once people figured out that, since nobody has gotten around to creating a SourceForge project for welfare case management, tracking of health insurance complaints, or the secure creation of drivers licenses, the state would no longer be able to perform those functions. This law would not last long.
More generally, free software is supposed to be about choices and freedom. That includes the freedom to choose software that does not necessarily meet the Open Source Definition. There are situations where a mandate of openness makes sense for governments: file formats for the storage of public data and electronic voting software come readily to mind. It is certainly in the interests of governments - and the governed - to use free software in situations where that software can do the job. But a heavy-handed law that requires the use of free software in all situations - even where such software does not exist - is excessive and counterproductive. World Domination is best achieved through better software and respect for freedom, not by legislative fiat.
LinuxWorld
The LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is happening without LWN's presence this year - but they seem to be getting along just fine without us. Our coverage is thus less that it might other wise be. Thanks to Russell Pavlicek, we do have reports from the first and second days at the event.Beyond that, there are a few things of interest that have come out of this LinuxWorld iteration, including:
- The Free Standards Group has announced
that three distributors (MandrakeSoft, Red Hat, and SuSE) have won
"LSB-compliant" certification for their distributions. Actual
implementation by the distributors was an important part of the whole
Linux Standard Base process, so this is good news.
- Sun has jumped into the business of selling commodity PCs with Linux
installed. This has proved to be a difficult living for many, but
it's possible that Sun's experience will be different.
- Dell's announcements show clearly where that company thinks money is
to be made with Linux: large clusters and migration from proprietary
Unix.
- By the end of September, we're told, we'll see the Xandros 1.0
and UnitedLinux beta releases.
- Oracle has joined the GPL community by releasing its "cluster filesystem" for Linux. The company seems to think that the Linux platform is important enough to be worth improving.
See this week's Linux in Business page for more LinuxWorld press releases than you would ever really want to see. The Linux business world has changed, but LinuxWorld still seems to be its meeting place.
SourceForge goes to DB2
Among the many announcements from LinuxWorld this week is this one from VA Software stating that the SourceForge software would be adapted to work with a number of proprietary IBM products, including the DB2 database manager and WebSphere. VA and IBM will also cooperate in the marketing of each other's products. Oh, and, incidentally, OSDN (owned by VA) has announced that SourceForge.net will be converted over to run DB2 exclusively.This arrangement does not lack its good features. SourceForge becomes more interoperable and gains a new marketing channel. No details have been released, of course, but it is reasonable to expect that IBM will help support SourceForge.net's continued existence as part of this deal. Given the obvious cost of running a facility like SourceForge and the number of free software projects which depend on it, this is good news for the free software community.
The fact remains, however, that SourceForge is moving steadily away from free software. The site itself has not been pure free software for some time, and is now becoming a showcase for IBM's proprietary applications. There has not been a release of the SourceForge site code - the free part - since November, 2001. References to "open source" are most rare on the VA Software web site. Even the VA Software products FAQ shows an interesting emphasis:
SourceForge runs on SPARC based Solaris servers using Solaris version 8 10/01 and higher. SourceForge also runs on Red Hat Linux versions 7.1 and higher on Intel processor-based platforms.
Almost exactly one year ago, Eric Raymond posted a message on how SourceForge wasn't really going proprietary:
Given that, it is interesting to note that Mr. Raymond's name has been quietly dropped from VA's Board of Directors page.
We are, thus, in a position where a large portion of the free software community's work is hosted on a site owned by a company that no longer sees free software as part of its mission. The concentration of projects onto a single site (any single site) has been a cause of concern for some time; now it makes the community's position look truly precarious. SourceForge is still useful to VA as a demonstration of the scale on which its software can work. But it's an expensive advertisement which is increasingly being turned to the interests of those who are paying the bills. SourceForge remains a valuable contribution to the free software community, as it has been for years. But the need for alternatives (beyond Savannah and Berios, which are a good start) is more urgent than ever.
LWN status update
There is relatively little to report on the status of LWN since last week - despite the fact that we have been as busy as ever. Here's what's going on:- Our disagreement with our credit card clearing company is heading
toward resolution - slowly. A small portion of the money given as
donations (and advertising payments) to LWN has found its way into our
bank account; we're working on getting the rest. Meanwhile, however,
we lack the ability to accept credit card payments - something we
have to fix before subscriptions can start.
- Implementation of site code for the handling of subscriptions is proceeding - slowly. When writing code that does things like charge money to credit cards, it's best not to be in too much of a hurry.
Thanks yet again for your support. We'll do our best to keep you informed as things happen.
Page editor: Jonathan Corbet
Security
Security news
USENIX security 2002 wrap up
Jose Nazario has provided LWN with a brief wrap up of this year's USENIX Security 2002 conference. "Linux's LSM kernel features, part of the Linux Security Module feature kit, were presented by folks from WireX (makers of Immunix, StackGuard and FormatGuard), NAI labs (part of the SELinux development team), and others. Their paper gave an overview of the architecture, some example code, work to bring other Linux security projects into the LSM architecture, and some benchmarks. Overall an excellent report, showing how much work and research has gone into the project."
Implementation of Chosen-Ciphertext Attacks against PGP and GnuPG
A followup, addressing implementation issues, to the recent paper on chosen-ciphertext attacks against PGP and GnuPG by K. Jallad, J. Katz, and B. Schneier is available (PDF or Postscript format).Werner Koch posted this partial rebuttal noting that countermeasures are defined in the OpenPGP drafts since October 2000.
The Mercury News covers the subject PGP flaw which could allow attackers to read mail intended for someone else only if they can be tricked into sending tampored mail back to the attacker after they receive it.
Security pros create resource on flaws (News.com)
Here's a News.com article about the Internetworked Security Information Service (ISIS), which brings together four independent projects--the Open Source Vulnerability Database, the Alldas.de defacement-tracking service, the PacketStorm software database and the vulnerability watchdog VulnWatch.
Defcon coverage
Wired and ZDNet covered the festival of just-for-fun denial of service attacks, system break-ins and other activities at this year's Defcon conference in Las Vegas.
OUSPG Software vulnerability reporting survey
The Finnish Oulu University Secure Programming Group (OUSPG) is conducting a survey of "vendors who receive bug reports, to coordinators of the reporting process (e.g. mailing list moderators and national CERTs), and to reporters of software vulnerabilities."If you do any of these functions we encourage you to participate.
Security reports
Trojan horse in OpenSSH 3.4p1 source distribution
As described in this Bugtraq posting, the source distribution for OpenSSH 3.4p1 contains a trojan horse. Said trojan is apparently activated only during the build process; people who are running binary versions (from a trusted source!) should not need to worry. No word as yet on just how this came to be; stay tuned, we'll update things as we learn more. (Thanks to Christof Damian).
Updates:
An advisory from the OpenBSD
folks has been issued. "OpenSSH version 3.2.2p1, 3.4p1 and 3.4 have
been trojaned on the OpenBSD ftp server and potentially propagated via the
normal mirroring process to other ftp servers....Anyone who has installed
OpenSSH from the OpenBSD ftp server or any mirror within that time frame
should consider his system compromised."
Tomi Nylund has compiled this list of mirrors that carried the trojaned OpenSSH.
L-Forum XSS, upload spoofing and SQL injection vulnerabilities
Ulf Harnhammar reports that L-Forum version 2.4.0, and possibily others, has got two different XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) holes and a distinct upload spoofing vulnerabiityIn a separate report, Matthew Murphy discovered an SQL injection flaw in L-Forum.
TinySSL basic constraints vulnerability fixed
TinySSL version 1.03 has a server side fix for this IE SSL vulnerability. TinySSL is an open source, compact (125k jar), SSLv3 client implementation written in Java (1.1+).
New vulnerabilities
Bug in SunRPC-derived XDR libraries
An integer overflow in xdr_array() function when deserializing the XDR stream that originated in the SunRPC library has been propagated into, at least, glibc, Kerberos 5, OpenAFS and dietlibc. The result, in most cases, is a potential remote code or root access vulnerability.According to the CERT Vulnerability Note, "this defect may lead to a number of differing security problems. Exploiting this vulnerability will lead to denial of service, execution of arbitrary code, or the disclosure of sensitive information."
The result, so far, is the four new vulnerabilities (below) for glibc, Kerberos 5, OpenAFS and dietlibc.
News.com covers the bug and its impact on Kerberos Key Distribution Center authentication functions. "Several sellers of Unix and Unix-like operating systems, including Red Hat, Debian, FreeBSD, Sun and NetBSD, said that their software was affected by the issue, and issued fixes. HP said it was investigating the bug's impact."
Potential remote root exploit in glibc
| Package(s): | glibc | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0391 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | June 29, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Felix von Leitner, discovered a
potential division by zero bug in
code derived from the SunRPC library which is used in glibc.This bug could be
exploited to gain unauthorized root access to software linking to glibc.
Updating as soon as practical is a good idea.
Because SunRPC-derived XDR libraries are used by a variety of vendors in a variety of applications, this defect may lead to a number of differing security problems. Exploiting this vulnerability will lead to denial of service, execution of arbitrary code, or the disclosure of sensitive information.
CERT/CC Vulnerability Note VU#192995 Integer overflow in xdr_array() function when deserializing the XDR stream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kerberos 5 unauthorized root access to KDC host vulnerability
| Package(s): | krb5 | CVE #(s): | ||||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | October 29, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | A bug in the Kerberos 5 remote
administration service, "kadmind", could be
exploited to gain unauthorized root access to a KDC host.
It is believed that the attacker needs to be able to
authenticate to the kadmin daemon for this attack to be successful.
Felix von Leitner, discovered this potential division by zero bug in code derived from the SunRPC library which is used in many places, including the Kerberos 5 administration system. Updating now is recommended. CERT/CC Vulnerability Note VU#192995 Integer overflow in xdr_array() function when deserializing the XDR stream | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
OpenAFS potential remote code execution vulnerability
| Package(s): | openafs | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | The OpenAFS database server is subject to the
integer overflow bug in code derived from the SunRPC library.
This bug could be exploited to crash certain OpenAFS servers
(volserver, vlserver, ptserver, buserver) or to obtain unauthorized
root access to a host running one of these processes.
Felix von Leitner, discovered this potential division by zero bug in code derived from the SunRPC library which is used in many places including openafs. Updating now is recommended. CERT/CC Vulnerability Note VU#192995 Integer overflow in xdr_array() function when deserializing the XDR stream | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Potential unauthorized root access vulnerability in dietlibc
| Package(s): | dietlibc | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0391 | |||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | December 5, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | Felix von Leitner, discovered a
potential division by zero bug in
code derived from the SunRPC library with is used in
dietlibc, a libc optimized for small size.
The bug could be exploited to gain unauthorized root
access to software linking to dietlibc.
CERT/CC Vulnerability Note VU#192995 Integer overflow in xdr_array() function when deserializing the XDR stream | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
Local denial of service vulnerability in sendmail
| Package(s): | sendmail | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | A local user can stop local mail service
by holding an exclusive read
lock on specific sendmail files.
The user must have permission to read
a file such as /var/log/sendmail.st, which
is world readable by default.
The problem is described in this advisory | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Off by one buffer overflow vulnerability in cvsd
| Package(s): | cvs | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | cvs version 1.11, and possibily earlier versions, has a locally exploitable off by one buffer overflow vulnerability. The details are available here. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Buffer overflow and format string vulnerabilities in ipppd
| Package(s): | i4l | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | The ipppd program, in the i4l package, has
various buffer overflows and format string bugs. Since ipppd
is installed setuid to root,
attackers with appropriate group membership may be able to execute
arbitrary commands as root.
The i4l package for ISDN connectivity is installed by default
in at least one distribution; you are vulnerable even if
you do not have an ISDN connection.
The SuSE Security Team is aware of a published exploit for ipppd
that gives a local attacker root privileges so you should either update
the package or remove the setuid bit from ipppd.
| |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Buffer overflow vulnerability in the Jabber plug-in module for gaim
| Package(s): | gaim | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0384 CAN-2002-0377 | |||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | September 11, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | gaim versions prior to 0.58 contained a buffer overflow in the Jabber plug-in module. The problem is fixed in gaim 0.59 which is available here. "Gaim is an instant messaging client written in GTK and is based on the published TOC messaging protocol from AOL." | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
Tcl/Tk local root vulnerability
| Package(s): | tcltk expect | CVE #(s): | CAN-2001-1374 CAN-2001-1375 | |||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | September 24, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | Tcl/Tk searches for its libraries in the current working
directory before other directories.
A local user could
execute arbitrary code by inserting a Trojan horse library
in the current working directory.
Versions of the expect application prior to 5.32, search for its libraries in /var/tmp before searching in other directories. A local user could gain root privleges by inserting a Trojan horse library in /var/tmp and then getting the root user to run mkpasswd. | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
Remotely exploitable vulnerabilities in l2tpd
| Package(s): | l2tpd | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | l2tpd, a layer 2 tunneling client/server program, does not initialize the random generator. Since this makes all generated random number 100% guessable, the oversight could lead to remote exploits. There is also a buffer overflow vulnerability. Both problems are fixed in the updates below. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Wwwoffle remote privilege escalation vulnerability
| Package(s): | wwwoffle | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0818 | |||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | October 1, 2003 | |||||||||
| Description: | The wwwoffle web proxy incorrectly processes HTTP PUT and POST requests with negative Content Length values. "It is believed that an attacker could exploit this bug to gain remote wwwrun access to the system wwwoffled is running on." | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
Remote execution vulnerability in gallery
| Package(s): | gallery | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | A remote attacker could execute commands under the uid of the web server by passing in the GALLERY_BASEDIR variable remotely. Gallery is a web-based photo album toolkit. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
File exposure vulnerability in interchange
| Package(s): | interchange | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | A problem has been discovered in interchange which may allow
a remote attacker to read any file for which the user of the Interchange
daemon has sufficient permissions.
Interchange must be running in "INET
mode" (internet domain socket) to be vulnerable.
This is not the default setting, at least in
Debian packages.
Interchange is an e-commerce and general HTTP database display system. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Remote arbitrary code execution vulnerability in mantis
| Package(s): | mantis | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 20, 2002 | |||
| Description: | Mantis is a php based bug tracking system.
Joao Gouveia and the Debian Security Team found
multiple insecure uses of uninitialized variables in mantis.
When these occasions are exploited, a remote user is able
to execute arbitrary code under the webserver user id on the web
server hosting the mantis system.
| |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Local root access vulnerability in super
| Package(s): | super | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | A format string bug in super may allow a local user to gain unauthorized root accesss. Super is a setuid-root program that offers restricted setuid-root access to executables and a relatively secure environment for scripts. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Potential MIME encoded email arbitrary coded execution vulnerability
| Package(s): | mpack | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | The munpack program is used in the Debian distribution for decoding binary files in MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) format mail messages. Eckehard Berns discovered a buffer overflow in munpack which may allow a mailiciously formed email to run arbitrary code. | |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Potential arbitrary code execution vulnerability in tinyproxy
| Package(s): | tinyproxy | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | |||
| Description: | Tinyproxy, a lightweight HTTP proxy, handles some
invalid proxy requests incorrectly.
Under some
circumstances, an invalid request may result in a allocated memory
being freed twice. This can potentially result in the execution of
arbitrary code.
| |||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||
Denial of service vulnerability in xinetd
| Package(s): | xinetd | CVE #(s): | ||||||||||||||||
| Created: | August 14, 2002 | Updated: | December 3, 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Description: | A file descriptor leak into services started from xinetd may be used, by programs it stats, to crash xinetd. Xinetd is a replacement for the BSD derived inetd. | |||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||||||||
Updated vulnerabilities
LPRng accepts jobs from any host.
| Package(s): | LPRng | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0378 | |||||||||
| Created: | June 12, 2002 | Updated: | October 31, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | Matthew Caron pointed out that LPRng's default configuration accepts job submissions from any host.
This could be an especially annoying vulnerability for adminstrators with systems exposed to the general public. | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||
OpenSSL remotely-exploitable buffer overflow vulnerabilities
| Package(s): | OpenSSL | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0655 CAN-2002-0656 CAN-2002-0657 CAN-2002-0659 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 30, 2002 | Updated: | September 24, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Four remotely-exploitable buffer overflows were found in OpenSSL versions 0.9.7 and 0.9.6d and earlier by a DARPA sponsored security audit.
Both client and server applications are affected.
The vulnerabilities are described in this security alert from the OpenSSL team.
A nasty exploit for one of the vulnerabilities is described in CERT Advisory CA-2002-27 Apache/mod_ssl Worm.
Compromise by the Apache/mod_ssl worm indicates that a remote attacker
can execute arbitrary code as the apache user on the victim system. It
may be possible for an attacker to subsequently leverage a local
privilege escalation exploit in order to gain root access to the
victim system. Furthermore, the DDoS capabilities included in the
Apache/mod_ssl worm allow victim systems to be used as platforms to
attack other systems.
If you haven't already, applying an update is a very good thing to do today. Mitel Networks has an update available which closes this vulnerabilty for their SME Server software. CERT Advisory CA-2002-23 Multiple Vulnerabilities In OpenSSL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heap corruption vulnerability in at
| Package(s): | at at, sudo, xchat | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | May 15, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | The at command has a potentially exploitable heap corruption bug. (First LWN report: January 17th). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Denial of service vulnerability in version 9 of BIND
| Package(s): | bind | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0400 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | August 19, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Here is an advisory from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
regarding the denial of service vulnerability in version 9 of the BIND
nameserver, up to 9.2.1. An attacker can send a properly crafted packet
which triggers a check within BIND and causes it to shut down. The
vulnerability can not be exploited for any purpose beyond denial of
service, but that is bad enough; if you are running BIND 9, an upgrade
is probably a good idea.
Note that many or most systems out there will still be running BIND 8, and thus will not be vulnerable. News articles on the vulnerability appear in the Register and Network World Fusion News. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
bind buffer overflow vulnerability in DNS resolver libraries
| Package(s): | bind glibc | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0651 CAN-2002-0684 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 8, 2002 | Updated: | October 1, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | The BIND 4.9.8-OW2 patch and BIND 4.9.9 release (and thus 4.9.9-OW1)
include fixes for a libc related vulnerability which does not
affect Linux. Updates from
the Internet Software Consortium (ISC)
are available from here.
No release or branch of Openwall GNU/*/Linux (Owl) is known to be
affected, due to Olaf Kirch's fixes for this problem getting into the
GNU C library more than two years ago.
Unfortunatly that does not mean that Linux systems are not vulnerable. Similar code, without Olaf Firch's fixes, is in the glibc getnetbyXXX functions. These functions are described in the SuSE alert as " used by very few applications only, such as ifconfig and ifuser, which makes exploits less likely." CERT Advisory: CA-2002-19 Buffer Overflow in Multiple DNS Resolver Libraries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ethereal buffer overflow, infinite loop and memory management vulnerabilities
| Package(s): | ethereal | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0012 CAN-2002-0013 CAN-2002-0353 CAN-2002-0401 CAN-2002-0402 CAN-2002-0403 CAN-2002-0404 | |||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 12, 2002 | Updated: | October 27, 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Description: | Ethereal 0.9.4
was released
on May 19, 2002 fixing four potential security issues in Ethereal 0.9.3:
No known exploits exist "in the wild" at the present time for any of these issues. | |||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| |||||||||||||||||
GNU fileutils race condition
| Package(s): | fileutils ucdsnmp | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0435 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | May 16, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | A race condition in rm may cause the root user to delete the whole filesystem. The problem exists in the version of rm in fileutils 4.1 stable and 4.1.6 development version. A patch is available. (First LWN report: May 2). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Buffer overflow in groff
| Package(s): | groff | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0003 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | December 9, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | The groff package has a buffer overflow vulnerability; if it is used with the print system, it is conceivably exploitable remotely. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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HylaFAX 4.1.3 fixes multiple vulnerabilities
| Package(s): | hylafax | CVE #(s): | CAN-2001-1034 | |||||||||
| Created: | July 30, 2002 | Updated: | October 9, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | The HylaFAX team has
released version 4.1.3 fixing
denial of service, elevated system privilege and possible
remote code execution vulnerabilities.
HylaFAX is a mature (est. 1991) enterprise-class open-source software
package for sending and receiving facsimiles as well as for sending
alpha-numeric pages. It runs on a wide variety of UNIX-like platforms
including Linux, BSD (including Mac OS X), SunOS and Solaris, SCO, IRIX,
AIX, and HP-UX.
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| Alerts: |
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UW imapd remotely exploitable buffer overflow
| Package(s): | imap | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0379 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | December 20, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | UW imapd versions 2000c and prior allow remote authenticated users to execute code via a buffer overflow. A malicious user can craft a request to run commands on the server under their UID and GID. (First LWN report: May 23). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Apache mod_ssl off-by-one local code execution and DoS vulnerability
| Package(s): | libapache-mod-ssl mod_ssl | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0653 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 2, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Mod-ssl provides strong cryptography for the Apache webserver
via the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
A maliciously-crafted .htaccess file, may
be used by an attacker to execute arbitrary
commands as the httpd user or launch a denial of service attack.
The problem is fixed in mod_ssl 2.8.10 which is available
from here.
For more information see the announcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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libpng buffer overflow vulnerability
| Package(s): | libpng libpng2 libpng3 | CVE #(s): | |||||||
| Created: | July 17, 2002 | Updated: | August 19, 2002 | ||||||
| Description: | Versions of libpng prior to
1.2.4 and 1.0.14 have a buffer
overflow vulnerability that could lead to remote code execution.
Since libpng is used by programs that talk to the outside
world (i.e. mozilla), it is worth upgrading.
libpng is the official PNG reference library. It supports almost all PNG features, is extensible, and has been extensively tested for over five years.
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| Alerts: |
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Mailman 2.0.11 fixes two cross-site scripting vulnerabilities
| Package(s): | mailman | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0388 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | August 28, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Barry A. Warsaw announced the release of Mailman 2.0.11 "which fixes two cross-site scripting exploits, one reported by "office" in the admin login page, and another reported by Tristan Roddis in the Pipermail index summaries. It is recommended that all sites upgrade their 2.0.x systems to this version." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Temporary file vulnerability in mm library
| Package(s): | mm | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0658 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 30, 2002 | Updated: | August 14, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | The OSSP mm library (libmm) is frequently used in Apache
setups using mod_ssl and/or mod_php.
A temporary file vulnerabiity in OSSP mm library (libmm) before
version 1.2.0
permits a local Apache user to gain privileges.
It can be exploited to obtain root privilege in some circumstances.
Upgrading sooner, rather than later, is recommended. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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PHP Remote Compromise/DOS Vulnerability
| Package(s): | mod_php4 | CVE #(s): | ||||
| Created: | July 22, 2002 | Updated: | February 18, 2003 | |||
| Description: | PHP 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 have an error in the handling of POST requests which
can lead to the corruption of memory, and the usual bad consequences. According to this alert, the vulnerability can only be used for denial of service on x86 systems - there is no way to get it to run exploit code. SPARC/Solaris systems are apparently vulnerable to full remote compromise.
According to the CERT Advisory, almost every Linux distributor, it seems, ships older (and thus not vulnerable) versions of PHP. Note that, sometimes, systems thought to be safe from remote compromise turn out to be vulnerable to a modified attack, so x86 users should not relax too much. The solution, for those systems with PHP 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 installed, is to upgrade to PHP 4.2.2. For more information see the alert from the discover of the vulnerability, Stefan Esser of e-matters GmbH, or the security advisory from the php team. CERT Advisory: CA-2002-21 Vulnerability in PHP | |||||
| Alerts: |
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Mozilla XMLHttpRequest file disclosure vulnerability
| Package(s): | mozilla | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0354 | |||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | October 18, 2002 | |||||||||
| Description: | This XMLHttpRequest security bug impacts all Mozilla-based browsers. "The bug is found in versions of Mozilla from 0.9.7 to 0.9.9 on various operating system platforms, and in Netscape versions 6.1 and higher." (First LWN report: May 2). | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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String format bug in pam_ldap logging
| Package(s): | nss_ldap | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0374 | ||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | October 29, 2002 | ||||||||||||
| Description: | The nss_ldap package includes the pam_ldap module for authenticating a user with an LDAP database. Pam_ldap versions prior to 144 have a string format bug in the logging mechanism. | ||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Remotely exploitable vulnerability in pine
| Package(s): | pine | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0014 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | November 27, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Pine has an
unpleasant
vulnerability in URL handling vulnerability which can lead to
command execution by remote attackers.
(First LWN report: January 17th).
This vulnerability is remotely exploitable; updating is a good idea. Note: If an update isn't yet available for your distribution, setting enable-msg-view-urls to "off" in pine's setup will avoid the vulnerability. (Thanks to Greg Herlein). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Sharutils potential privilege escalation using uudecode
| Package(s): | sharutils | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0178 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | October 30, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | According to the CVE entry, "uudecode, as available in the sharutils package before 4.2.1, does not check whether the filename of the uudecoded file is a pipe or symbolic link, which could allow attackers to overwrite files or execute commands." (First LWN report: May 16). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Multiple vulnerabilities fixed in Squid-2.4.STABLE7
| Package(s): | squid | CVE #(s): | |||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 8, 2002 | Updated: | November 15, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Here is the security advisory for the Squid proxy server reporting several vulnerabilities in versions up to and including 2.4.STABLE7.
Several of the bugs are believed to allow remote code execution.
The security advisory lists the following changes:
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| Alerts: |
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Malformed NFS packet buffer overflow vulnerability in tcpdump
| Package(s): | tcpdump | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0380 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | October 9, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | A buffer overflow in tcpdump can be triggered by a bad NFS packet when tracing the network. Unmodified tcpdump versions 3.6.2 and earlier are vulnerable. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Multiple vendor telnetd vulnerability
| Package(s): | telnet Telnet netkit-telnet-ssl kerberos telnetd netkit-telnet nkitb/nkitserv/telnetd krb5 | CVE #(s): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | October 5, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | This vulnerability, originally thought to be confined to BSD-derived systems, was first covered in the July 26th Security Summary. It is now known that Linux telnet daemons are vulnerable as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Multiple vulnerabilities in SNMP implementations
| Package(s): | ucdsnmp ucd-snmp | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0012 CAN-2002-0013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | September 17, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | Most SNMP implementations out there have a variety of buffer overflow vulnerabilities and should be upgraded at first opportunity. See this CERT advisory for more. (First LWN report: February 14). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Local root vulnerability in chfn
| Package(s): | util-linux | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0638 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Created: | July 29, 2002 | Updated: | October 30, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Description: | chfn (change finger information) is one of the utilities in
the util-linux package.
The BindView RAZOR Team has discovered a local root vulnerability
in chfn which is described in the Bindview Advisory.
Under certain conditions, "a carefully crafted attack sequence can be performed to exploit a complex file locking and modification race present in this utility, and, as a result, alter /etc/passwd to escalate privileges in the system." The conditions include a password file, /etc/passwd, over 4 kilobytes and locating the attacker's account record in any but the last 4 kB chunk of the file. CERT/CC Vulnerability Note VU#405955 util-linux package vulnerable to privilege escalation when "ptmptmp" file is not removed properly when using "chfn" utility | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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webalizer: reverse DNS buffer overflow vulnerability
| Package(s): | webalizer | CVE #(s): | ||||||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | January 27, 2003 | |||||||||||||||
| Description: | The cause is a buffer overflow bug. This one sounds nasty. If reverse DNS lookups are enabled in webalizer, "an attacker with control over the victims DNS may spoof responses thus triggering a buffer overflow, potentially leading to a root compromise." Webalizer 2.01-10 "fixes this and a few other buglets that have been discovered in the last month or so". (First LWN report: April 18th, 2002). | |||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Webmin/Usermin vulnerabilities
| Package(s): | webmin | CVE #(s): | ||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | January 10, 2003 | |||||||||
| Description: | Webmin is a web-based interface for
system administration for Unix.
Webmin has cross-site scripting and
session ID spoofing vulnerabilities
which are fixed in the May 6, 2002 release of version 0.970.
(First LWN
report: May 9).
This one is scary. The session ID spoofing vulnerability allows the "possibility that arbitrary commands may be executed with root privileges." Upgrading is strongly recommended. At a minimum avoid the "preconditions for a successful exploit" by disabling password timeouts under Webmin->Configuration->Authentication. | |||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Problems with libgtop_daemon
| Package(s): | wuftpd libgtop | CVE #(s): | |||||||||||||
| Created: | May 21, 2002 | Updated: | May 7, 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Description: |
The libgtop_daemon package is a GNOME
program which makes system information available remotely.
LWN reported the remotely exploitable format
string and buffer overflow vulnerabilities in that package
on December 6th.
On November 28th
disabling the libgtop_daemon on systems where it is running until
an update is available.
Many Linux systems do not run libgtop by default, but applying the update is a good idea anyway. | ||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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xchat IC server based dns query vulnerability
| Package(s): | xchat | CVE #(s): | CAN-2002-0382 | |||||||||||||||
| Created: | June 5, 2002 | Updated: | September 24, 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Description: | A malicious IRC server may return a response to a /dns query that executes arbitrary commands with the privileges of the user running XChat. Versions of XChat prior to 1.8.9 are vulnerable. | |||||||||||||||||
| Alerts: |
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Resources
Linux Security Week and Advisory Watch
The August 12th Linux Security Week and August 9th Linux Advisory Watch newsletters from LinuxSecurity.com are available.
Xprobe2 - Tool & Paper release
Ofir Arkin announces the release of the Xprobe2 source code and white paper (PDF format). The code is licensed under the GPL.
Nmap 3.00 Released
Fyodor announces the release of Nmap Security Scanner version 3.00.
The Security Digest Archives
The 'Security Digest' Archives is attempting to build "a history of the early 'Security Digest' archives, from the Unix 'Security Mailing List', through the Zardoz 'Security Digest' to the Core 'Security List'." If you're interested in contributing, or just curious, please take a look.
Events
CodeCon 2003 Call for Papers
CodeCon 2003 will be held February 2003 in San Francisco CA, USA. The deadline for papaers and proposals is December 1, 2002.
HiverCon 2002, Ireland - Earlybird registration now available
HiverCon 2002 is scheduled for November 26th and 27th, 2002 in Dublin Ireland.
Upcoming Security Events
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| August 19 - 21, 2002 | Canadian Security & Intelligence Conference(CSICON)</ |