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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- =========================================================================== AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution ESB-2000.157 -- RHSA-2000:041-02 man package's 'makewhatis' uses insecure handling of files in /tmp 4 July 2000 =========================================================================== AusCERT Security Bulletin Summary --------------------------------- Product: man Vendor: Red Hat Operating System: Red Hat Linux Linux Platform: N/A Impact: Modify Arbitrary files Increased Privileges Access Required: Local - --------------------------BEGIN INCLUDED TEXT-------------------- - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Hat, Inc. Security Advisory Synopsis: man package's 'makewhatis' uses insecure handling of files in /tmp Advisory ID: RHSA-2000:041-02 Issue date: 2000-07-03 Updated on: 2000-07-03 Product: Red Hat Linux Keywords: man /tmp makewhatis Cross references: N/A - --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Topic: The makewhatis portion of the man package used files in /tmp in an insecure fashion. It was possible for local users to exploit this vulnerability to modify files that they normally could not and gain elevated privilege. 2. Relevant releases/architectures: Red Hat Linux 5.2 - i386 alpha sparc Red Hat Linux 6.0 - alpha i386 sparc Red Hat Linux 6.1 - i386 alpha sparc Red Hat Linux 6.2 - alpha i386 sparc 3. Problem description: The makewhatis script creates files in /tmp with predictable names. By using various symlink attacks, it is possible to have the makewhatis script write to files it should not, change the permissions of various files, etc. It is recommended that users of Red Hat Linux upgrade to the fixed packages. 4. Solution: For each RPM for your particular architecture, run: rpm -Fvh [filename] where filename is the name of the RPM. 5. Bug IDs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla for more info): N/A 6. RPMs required: Red Hat Linux 5.2: i386: ftp://updates.redhat.com/5.2/i386/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.i386.rpm alpha: ftp://updates.redhat.com/5.2/alpha/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.alpha.rpm sparc: ftp://updates.redhat.com/5.2/sparc/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.sparc.rpm sources: ftp://updates.redhat.com/5.2/SRPMS/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.src.rpm Red Hat Linux 6.2: alpha: ftp://updates.redhat.com/6.2/alpha/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.alpha.rpm i386: ftp://updates.redhat.com/6.2/i386/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.i386.rpm sparc: ftp://updates.redhat.com/6.2/sparc/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.sparc.rpm sources: ftp://updates.redhat.com/6.2/SRPMS/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.src.rpm 7. Verification: MD5 sum Package Name - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- b3476eb017b133ad4094ab961a93451d 5.2/SRPMS/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.src.rpm 835945f5b6a55072beb7ed38af02ad97 5.2/alpha/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.alpha.rpm ee5f1fcc982be266294bbfd7f50fac53 5.2/i386/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.i386.rpm ebcdad7749c958e9df00b0c261791b25 5.2/sparc/man-1.5h1-2.5.x.sparc.rpm 14a92fdbfea1867c771d929a078dfece 6.2/SRPMS/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.src.rpm 15cc526b17fc2b10e7cbadfe1c1c7e72 6.2/alpha/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.alpha.rpm 32bed2085c2947237185e3e973f1a2ff 6.2/i386/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.i386.rpm 0b330b0cea1e7ac1af83010cf896a2d4 6.2/sparc/man-1.5h1-2.6.x.sparc.rpm These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat, Inc. for security. Our key is available at: http://www.redhat.com/corp/contact.html You can verify each package with the following command: rpm --checksig <filename> If you only wish to verify that each package has not been corrupted or tampered with, examine only the md5sum with the following command: rpm --checksig --nogpg <filename> 8. References: N/A - --------------------------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). 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