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."

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