Published:
14 December 1999
Protect yourself against future threats.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
===========================================================================
AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution
ESB-1999.192 -- CERT Advisory CA-99-16
Buffer Overflow in Sun Solstice AdminSuite Daemon
15 December 1999
===========================================================================
The CERT Coordination Centre has released the following advisory concerning
a buffer overflow vulnerability in Sun Solstice AdminSuite Daemon sadmind.
All versions of the Solstice sadmind are affected by this vulnerability
which may allow remote users to execute arbitrary code as the owner of the
sadmind process (typically root) and gain remote privileged access.
- --------------------------BEGIN INCLUDED TEXT--------------------
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
CERT Advisory CA-99-16 Buffer Overflow in Sun Solstice AdminSuite Daemon
sadmind
Original release date: December 14, 1999
Last revised: --
Source: CERT/CC
A complete revision history is at the end of this file.
Systems Affected
* Systems that have sadmind installed
I. Description
The sadmind program is installed by default in Solaris 2.5, 2.6, and
7. In Solaris 2.3 and 2.4, sadmind may be installed if the Sun
Solstice Adminsuite packages are installed. The sadmind program is
installed in /usr/sbin. It can be used to coordinate distributed
system administration operations remotely. The sadmind daemon is
started automatically by the inetd daemon whenever a request to
perform a system administration operation is received.
All versions of sadmind are vulnerable to a buffer overflow that can
overwrite the stack pointer within a running sadmind process. Since
sadmind is installed as root, it is possible to execute arbitrary
code with root privileges on a remote machine.
This vulnerability has been discussed in public security forums and is
actively being exploited by intruders.
II. Impact
A remote user may be able to execute arbitrary code with root
privileges on systems running vulnerable versions of sadmind.
III. Solution
Disable sadmind
Remove (or comment) the following line in /etc/inetd.conf:
100232/10 tli rpc/udp wait root /usr/sbin/sadmind sadmind
Even though it will not defend against the attack discussed in this
advisory, it is a good practice to set the security option used to
authenticate requests to a STRONG level, for example:
100232/10 tli rpc/udp wait root /usr/sbin/sadmind sadmind -S 2
If you must use sadmind to perform system administration tasks, we
urge you to use this setting.
Appendix A contains information provided by vendors for this advisory.
We will update the appendix as we receive or develop more information.
If you do not see your vendor's name in Appendix A, the CERT/CC did
not hear from that vendor. Please contact your vendor directly.
Appendix A. Vendor Information
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems is currently working on patches to address the issue
discussed in this advisory and recommends disabling sadmind.
_________________________________________________________________
The CERT Coordination Center thanks Sun Microsystems for its help in
providing information for this advisory.
______________________________________________________________________
This document is available from:
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-99-16-sadmind.html
______________________________________________________________________
CERT/CC Contact Information
Email: cert@cert.org
Phone: +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline)
Fax: +1 412-268-6989
Postal address:
CERT Coordination Center
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
U.S.A.
CERT personnel answer the hotline 08:00-20:00 EST(GMT-5) / EDT(GMT-4)
Monday through Friday; they are on call for emergencies during other
hours, on U.S. holidays, and on weekends.
Using encryption
We strongly urge you to encrypt sensitive information sent by email.
Our public PGP key is available from
http://www.cert.org/CERT_PGP.key
If you prefer to use DES, please call the CERT hotline for more
information.
Getting security information
CERT publications and other security information are available from
our web site
http://www.cert.org/
To be added to our mailing list for advisories and bulletins, send
email to cert-advisory-request@cert.org and include SUBSCRIBE
your-email-address in the subject of your message.
Copyright 1999 Carnegie Mellon University.
Conditions for use, disclaimers, and sponsorship information can be
found in
http://www.cert.org/legal_stuff.html
* "CERT" and "CERT Coordination Center" are registered in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office.
______________________________________________________________________
NO WARRANTY
Any material furnished by Carnegie Mellon University and the Software
Engineering Institute is furnished on an "as is" basis. Carnegie
Mellon University makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or
implied as to any matter including, but not limited to, warranty of
fitness for a particular purpose or merchantability, exclusivity or
results obtained from use of the material. Carnegie Mellon University
does not make any warranty of any kind with respect to freedom from
patent, trademark, or copyright infringement.
_________________________________________________________________
Revision History
December 14, 1999: Initial release
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0
Charset: noconv
iQA/AwUBOFbPPVr9kb5qlZHQEQINGgCfYXMWSZ3GBauE3Orgl1C5cJ6mQygAnAtG
AEvFBGeD2oZXfsZCT5vLzO6L
=GTXH
- -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
- --------------------------END INCLUDED TEXT--------------------
This security bulletin is provided as a service to AusCERT's members. As
AusCERT did not write the document quoted above, AusCERT has had no control
over its content. 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 may
not be updated when updates to the original are made. If downloading at
a later date, it is recommended that the bulletin is retrieved directly
from the original authors to ensure that the information is still current.
Contact information for the authors of the original document is included
in the Security Bulletin above. 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
Facsimile: (07) 3365 7031
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.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.3i
Charset: noconv
Comment: ftp://ftp.auscert.org.au/pub/auscert/AUSCERT_PGP.key
iQCVAwUBOFpaSCh9+71yA2DNAQFrZQP+LQimRNMXrDPdIiiLbDttzhdPQfbTfxJD
6JaNvxAxJmDpIbMdqrYBGziMnq8kGnob6Mth3S9WlVonbTH/l4icQqGL8UtArsZD
IdYsr8zwlk0r9+ba+O6XvtmxC9fE8wCyF70m92KZIJ0bb3uS2UWn3FlIQYfd5+cl
CnCVGbk1WO8=
=F8Tl
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----