Published:
04 March 1998
Protect yourself against future threats.
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AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution
ESB-98.030 -- Sun Security Bulletin #00164
Vulnerability in dtaction program
5th March 1998
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Sun Microsystems, Inc. has released the following advisory concerning a
vulnerability in the dtaction program under SunOS versions 5.6, 5.6_x86,
5.5.1, 5.5.1_x86, 5.5, 5.5_x86, 5.4, and 5.4_x86 running CDE. This
vulnerability may allow attackers to gain root access.
The following security bulletin is provided as a service to AUSCERT's
members. As AUSCERT did not write this document, AUSCERT has had no
control over its content. As such, the decision to use any or all of this
information is the responsibility of each user or organisation, and should
be done so in accordance with site policies and procedures.
NOTE: This is only the original release of the security bulletin. It will
not be updated when the original bulletin is. If downloading at a later
date, it is recommended that the bulletin is retrieved from the original
authors to ensure that the information is still current.
Contact information for Sun is included in the Security Bulletin
below. If you have any questions or need further information, please
contact them directly.
Previous advisories and external security bulletins can be retrieved from:
http://www.auscert.org.au/Information/advisories.html
If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact AUSCERT or your
representative in FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams).
Internet Email: auscert@auscert.org.au
Telephone: (07) 3365 4417 (International: +61 7 3365 4417)
AUSCERT personnel answer during Queensland business hours
which are GMT+10:00 (AEST).
On call after hours for emergencies.
Facsimile: (07) 3365 7031
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________________________________________________________________________________
Sun Microsystems, Inc. Security Bulletin
Bulletin Number: #00164
Date: March 4, 1998
Cross-Ref:
Title: dtaction
________________________________________________________________________________
The information contained in this Security Bulletin is provided "AS IS."
Sun makes no warranties of any kind whatsoever with respect to the information
contained in this Security Bulletin. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT OR
IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE
HEREBY DISCLAIMED AND EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
IN NO EVENT WILL SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUE,
PROFIT OR DATA, OR FOR DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL
OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN
THIS SECURITY BULLETIN, EVEN IF SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
If any of the above provisions are held to be in violation of applicable law,
void, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, then such provisions are waived
to the extent necessary for this disclaimer to be otherwise enforceable in
such jurisdiction.
________________________________________________________________________________
1. Bulletins Topics
Sun announces the release of patches for Solaris(tm) 2.6, 2.5.1,
2.5, and 2.4 (SunOS(tm) 5.6, 5.5.1, 5.5, and 5.4) which relate
to a vulnerability in dtaction.
Sun recommends that you install the patches listed in section 4
immediately on systems running SunOS 5.6, 5.5.1, 5.5, and 5.4
with the Common Desktop Environment (CDE).
2. Who is Affected
Vulnerable: SunOS versions 5.6, 5.6_x86, 5.5.1, 5.5.1_x86, 5.5,
5.5_x86, 5.4, and 5.4_x86 running CDE
Not vulnerable: All other supported versions of SunOS.
3. Understanding the Vulnerability
The dtaction utility allows applications or shell scripts, which are
otherwise not connected into the CDE development environment, to invoke
action requests. Due to insufficient bounds checking on arguments supplied
to dtaction, it is possible to overwrite the internal stack space of
dtaction. As dtaction is setuid root, this vulnerability may be exploited
to gain root access.
4. List of Patches
The following patches are available in relation to the above problem.
CDE version Patch ID
___________ ________
1.2 105669-02
1.2_x86 105670-02
1.02 105716-02
1.02_x86 105717-02
1.01 105714-02
1.01_x86 105715-02
_______________________________________________________________________________
APPENDICES
A. Patches listed in this bulletin are available to all Sun customers via
World Wide Web at:
<URL:http://sunsolve.sun.com/sunsolve/pubpatches/patches.html>
B. Checksums for the patches listed in this bulletin are available via
World Wide Web at:
<URL:http://sunsolve.sun.com/sunsolve/pubpatches/patches.html>
C. Sun security bulletins are available via World Wide Web at:
<URL:http://sunsolve.sun.com/sunsolve/secbulletins>
D. Sun Security Coordination Team's PGP key is available via World Wide Web
at:
<URL:http://sunsolve.sun.com/sunsolve/secbulletins/SunSCkey.txt>
E. To report or inquire about a security problem with Sun software, contact
one or more of the following:
- Your local Sun answer centers
- Your representative computer security response team, such as CERT
- Sun Security Coordination Team. Send email to:
security-alert@sun.com
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________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Sun,
Sun Microsystems, Solaris and SunOS are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. This
Security Bulletin may be reproduced and distributed, provided that this
Security Bulletin is not modified in any way and is attributed to
Sun Microsystems, Inc. and provided that such reproduction and distribution
is performed for non-commercial purposes.
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