[ISN] Linux Advisory Watch - April 13th 2001

From: <vuln-newsletter-admins_at_linuxsecurity.com>
Date: Fri 13 Apr 2001 - 09:52:09 CDT
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
|  LinuxSecurity.com                      Linux  Advisory Watch  |
|  April 13th, 2001                        Volume 2, Number 15a  |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

  Editors:     Dave Wreski                  Benjamin Thomas
               dave@linuxsecurity.com       ben@linuxsecurity.com


Linux Advisory Watch is a comprehensive newsletter that outlines the
security vulnerabilities that have been announced throughout the
week. It includes pointers to updated packages and descriptions of
each vulnerability.

This week, advisories were released for xntp3, ntpd, vim, mailx,
kernel, pine, netscape, and mc.  The vendors include Conectiva,
Caldera, Debian, EnGarde, Immunix, Mandrake, NetBSD, Progeny, Red
Hat, Slackware, SuSE, and Trustix.



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* Using GnuPG with Pine for Secure E-Mail

Many people have no problem sending sensitive data via e-mail. Most
of us do not know how easy it is for anybody to read it. Just because
somebody holds the title of "Systems Administrator" does not mean
they can be trusted. What is stopping them from reading your e-mail?
Nothing. This is where PGP comes in; it is easy-to-use encryption
meant for the common person.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/feature_stories/feature_story-83.html


HTML Version of Newsletter:
http://www.linuxsecurity.com/vuln-newsletter.html


+---------------------------------+
| Installing a new package:       | ------------------------------//
+---------------------------------+

# rpm -Uvh
# dpkg -i

Packages can be installed easily by using rpm (Red Hat Package
Manager) or dpkg (Debian Package Manager). Most advisories
issued by vendors are packaged in either an rpm or dpkg.
Additional installation instructions can be found in the body
of the Advisories.

+---------------------------------+
| Checking Package Integrity:     | -----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+

The md5sum command is used to compute a 128-bit fingerprint that is
strongly dependant upon the contents of the file to which it is
applied. It can be used to compare against a previously-generated
sum to determine whether the file has changed. It is commonly used
to ensure the integrity of updated packages distributed by a vendor.


# md5sum
ebf0d4a0d236453f63a797ea20f0758b

The string of numbers can then be compared against the MD5 checksum
published by the packager. While it does not take into account the
possibility that the same person that may have modified a package
also may have modified the published checksum, it is especially
useful for establishing a great deal of assurance in the integrity
of a package before installing



+---------------------------------+
|   Conectiva                     | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+

* Conectiva:  'xntp3' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

"xntp3" is a package used to syncronize clocks between computers on a
network. Przemyslaw Frasunek published an exploit that demonstrates a
buffer overflow vulnerability in that package. This vulnerability can
be exploited remotely and is aggravated by the fact that the xntpd
daemon runs as root.

 ftp://atualizacoes.conectiva.com.br/6.0/RPMS/xntp3-5.93-21cl.i386.rpm

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1269.html


+---------------------------------+
|   Caldera                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Caldera: 'vim' multiple vulnerabilities
April 11th, 2001

There exists a possibility for an attacker to embed special modelines
into a text file which when opened with vim could compromise the
account of the user.

 ftp://ftp.calderasystems.com/pub/updates/OpenLinux/2.3/current/RPMS/
 RPMS/vim-5.7-12.i386.rpm
 6f57e2a30063af5973c98734bd56099e

 RPMS/vim-X11-5.7-12.i386.rpm
 e53bbd8b9cd8020015d08edcbe8c872a

 RPMS/vim-help-5.7-12.i386.rpm
 1914bb9b40d72a0bfdd1997890b7c05a

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/caldera_advisory-1282.html



* Caldera: ntpd remote buffer overflow vulnerability
April 6th, 2001

The ntp time synchronisation demon has a buffer overflow in its
control request parsing which allows any remote attacker to gain root
access, if the demon is running.

 ftp://ftp.calderasystems.com/pub/updates/OpenLinux/2.3/current/RPMS/
 RPMS/xntp-3.5.93e-5.i386.rpm
 19e51b89951b435061450398e764b753

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/caldera_advisory-1264.html



+---------------------------------+
|   Debian                        | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Debian: UPDATE: ntp denial of service
April 10th, 2001

Przemyslaw Frasunek reported that ntp daemons such as that released
with Debian GNU/Linux are vulnerable to a buffer overflow that can
lead to a remote root exploit. A previous advisory (DSA-045-1)
partially addressed this issue, but introduced a potential denial of
service attack. This has been corrected for Debian 2.2 (potato) in
ntp version 4.0.99g-2potato2.

 Architecture-independent files:

 http://security.debian.org/debian-security/dists/stable/updates/
 main/binary-all/ntp-doc_4.0.99g-2potato2_all.deb
 MD5 checksum: cfa7f1a427fb65dc85eca68f823c95d7

 http://security.debian.org/debian-security/dists/stable/updates/
 main/binary-all/xntp3_4.0.99g-2potato2_all.deb
 MD5 checksum: 3216aeca42720cd2b00f19ef05dc4ff8

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/debian_advisory-1276.html




+---------------------------------+
|   EnGarde                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* EnGarde:  'xntp3' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

By attacking a very small buffer with a very small set of shellcode,
an attacker can potentially gain root access. It has been reported
that in some cases the only effect is the segfault of the ntpd. The
Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize a computer's time
with another reference time source. The xntp3 package contains
utilities and daemons which will synchronize your computer's time to
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) via the NTP protocol and NTP
servers.

 http://ftp.engardelinux.org/pub/engarde/stable/updates/
 i686/xntp3-5.93-1.0.16.i686.rpm
 MD5 Sum:  3d7823343a0db6485a94fa16fad5afbd

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1273.html



+---------------------------------+
|   Immunix                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Immunix: ntpd buffer overflow
April 6th, 2001

The StackGuard protection in Immunix is effective at stopping this
attack. If the published exploit is run against the Immunix version,
it will cause ntpd to exit with a StackGuard detection message but no
penetration vulnerability is possible. WireX is releasing updated
packages to prevent the residual DoS attack.

 Precompiled binary package for Immunix 6.2 is available at:

 http://immunix.org/ImmunixOS/6.2/updates/RPMS/
 xntp3-5.93-14_StackGuard_2.i386.rpm
 4a87c36da4418926d95c5a19cd913f48

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1259.html





+---------------------------------+
|   Mandrake                      | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Mandrake: ntpd buffer overflow
April 6th, 2001

Przemyslaw Frasunek reported that ntp daemons such as ntp and xntp3
are vulnerable to a buffer overflow that can lead to a remote root
exploit. Linux-Mandrake users are urged to upgrade ntp and xntp3
immediately.

 http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/ftp.php3
 Linux-Mandrake 7.2:
 7.2/RPMS/ntp-4.0.99k-3.1mdk.i586.rpm
 78510269b88b75b90fbb28cb5ecd7d0b

 7.2/RPMS/xntp3-5.93-9.1mdk.i586.rpm
 d1be8a263979dfcc9549aa0193b3bc43

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/mandrake_advisory-1260.html




+---------------------------------+
|   NetBSD                        | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+

* NetBSD: Ftpd denial of service and remote buffer overflow
April 10th, 2001

A recent COVERT Labs Security Advisory (COVERT-2001-02) describes a
remote denial of service and buffer overrun that COVERT Labs
discovered in the glob(3) library function. This function is called
by the ftp server daemon (ftpd), and therefore the ftp server is
vulnerable to this attack. Systems running ftpd are vulnerable.

 PLEASE SEE VENDOR ADVISORY FOR UPDATE

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/netbsd_advisory-1275.html




* NetBSD: NTP remote buffer overflow
April 6th, 2001

The NTP time synchronisation service shipped with NetBSD and many
other systems is vulnerable to a buffer-overflow attack. This
vulnerability may lead to arbitrary code execution as the user
running the NTP daemon, usually root.

 PLEASE SEE VENDOR ADVISORY

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/netbsd_advisory-1262.html



+---------------------------------+
|   Progeny                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Progeny: UPDATE: kernel vulnerabilities
April 10th, 2001

This is an update to advisory PROGENY-SA-2001-01. The sources.list
line specified in Step 1 of the "UPDATING VIA APT-GET" section in the
previous advisory was incorrect. This advisory fixes the error.

 http://archive.progeny.com/progeny/updates/newton/
 kernel-image-2.2.19_1.81_i386.deb
 f72c383e22a064ec394cff50a84ab789

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1281.html



* Progeny:  'mailx' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

Mailx is a simple program to read and send e-mail. Mailx is installed
setgid mail on Progeny and Debian systems. A buffer overflow in mailx
allows for a local user to gain access to the mail group, which would
allow that user to read and write to other mail spools.

 http://archive.progeny.com/pub/progeny/updates/newton/
 mailx_8.1.1-10.1.5progeny1_i386.deb
 fe12bbc355688e9eeff853cf13ed7f58

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1270.html



* Progeny:  'kernel' vulnerability
April 9th, 2001

This vulnerability exploits a race condition in the 2.2.x Linux
kernel within the execve() system call. By predicting the
child-process sleep() within execve(), an attacker an use ptrace() or
similar mechanisms to subvert control of the child process. If the
child process is setuid, the attacker can cause the child process to
execute arbitrary code at an elevated privilege.

 http://archive.progeny.com/progeny/updates/newton/
 kernel-image-2.2.19_1.81_i386.deb
 f72c383e22a064ec394cff50a84ab789

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1271.html



* Progeny:  'ntp' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

The buffer overflow occurs when building a response to a query with a
large readvar argument. The shellcode executed must be less than 70
bytes, otherwise the destination buffer is damaged. This makes the
vulnerability difficult but not impossible to exploit.

 http://archive.progeny.com/pub/progeny/updates/newton/
 ntp_4.0.99g-2.0progeny3_i386.deb
 edac3588fc782c6729b90719e7f41c5b

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1272.html





+---------------------------------+
|   Red Hat                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* RedHat: netscape JavaScript vulnerability
April 10th, 2001

Netscape does not escape GIF file comments in the image information
page; this allows JavaScript commands embedded therein to be
executed. These commands could access data such as the browser
history.

 Red Hat Linux 7.0:
 i386:
 ftp://updates.redhat.com/7.0/en/os/i386/netscape-common-4.77-1.i386.rpm
 4bb1bcc4c439531019bcab78cd953f59

 ftp://updates.redhat.com/7.0/en/os/i386/netscape-communicator-4.77-1.i386.rpm
 7d6948941a20599b302bc0bc4f1c0999

 ftp://updates.redhat.com/7.0/en/os/i386/netscape-navigator-4.77-1.i386.rpm
 7d570955357ad6b8fbb9d9fd4913d5cf

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/redhat_advisory-1280.html




* RedHat: UPDATE: 'pine' tmp file creation vulnerability
April 10th, 2001

Previous versions of the pine email client, and the pico editor have
had various temporary file creation issues that allow any user with
local system access, to cause files owned by anyone including root to
potentially be overwritten if the right set of conditions are met.

 Red Hat Linux 7.0:
 alpha:
 ftp://updates.redhat.com/7.0/en/os/alpha/pine-4.33-7.alpha.rpm
 b64337030032f68609db57faa1bb2ee5

 i386:
 ftp://updates.redhat.com/7.0/en/os/i386/pine-4.33-7.i386.rpm
 ef8d1e7d5a28b74a7a088ef67ed98dff

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/redhat_advisory-1279.html





+---------------------------------+
|   Slackware                     | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* Slackware:  'xntp3' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

The version of xntp3 that shipped with Slackware 7.1 as well as the
version that was in Slackware -current contains a buffer overflow bug
that could lead to a root compromise. Slackware 7.1 and Slackware
-current users are urged to upgrade to the new packages available for
their release.

 ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/
 slakware/n1/ntp4.tgz
 8dc3ec08fc63500ff75f640a1894bdd0

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/slackware_advisory-1266.html




+---------------------------------+
|   SuSE                          | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+


* SuSE: vim/gvim local privilege escalation
April 10th, 2001

The text editor vim, Vi IMproved, was found vulnerable to two
security bugs. 1.) a tmp race condition 2.) vim commands in regular
files will be executed if the status line of vim is enabled in vimrc
Both vulnerabilities could be used to gain unauthorized access to
more privileges.

 i386 Intel Platform:   SuSE-7.1
 ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/7.1/a1/vim-5.7-71.i386.rpm
 db368baa134c23b3578c8022a66d2703

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/suse_advisory-1278.html



* SuSE: mc local privilege escalation
April 10th, 2001

The Midnight Commander, mc(1), is a ncurses-based file manager. A
local attacker could trick mc(1) into executing commands with the
privileges of the user running mc(1) by creating malicious directory
names. This attack leads to local privilege escalation.

 SuSE-7.1: i386 Intel Platform
 ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/7.1/ap1/mc-4.5.51-1.i386.rpm
 c1eb197dff39e61065c498fa91347836

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/suse_advisory-1277.html




* SuSE:  'xntp' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

xntp is the network time protocol package widely used with many unix
and linux systems for system time synchronization over a network. An
exploit published by Przemyslaw Frasunek demonstrates a buffer
overflow in the control request parsing code. The exploit allows a
remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root. All versions
as shipped with SuSE Linux are affected by the buffer overflow
problem.

 SuSE-7.1
 ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/7.1/n2/
 xntp-4.0.99f-34.i386.rpm
 9e39ca8f7b01fef22766463b8295e25d

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/suse_advisory-1274.html




+---------------------------------+
|   Trustix                       | ----------------------------//
+---------------------------------+

* Trustix:  'Xntpd' buffer overflow
April 9th, 2001

A buffer overflow in the Xntp NTP daemon has been found. This bug can
lead to a remote root exploit.

 PLEASE SEE VENDOR ADVISORY
 ftp://ftp.trustix.net/pub/Trustix/software/swup/

 Vendor Advisory:
 http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/other_advisory-1268.html















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Received on Sun Apr 15 03:00 CDT 2001
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