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                   Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat Security Advisory

Synopsis:          Updated minicom packages available
Advisory ID:       RHSA-2001:067-03
Issue date:        2001-05-03
Updated on:        2001-05-09
Product:           Red Hat Linux
Keywords:          minicom security format string exploit
Cross references:  
Obsoletes:         
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1. Topic:

The minicom program allows any user with local shell access to obtain
group uucp priveledges.  It may also be possible for the malicious user
to obtain root priveledges as well.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Linux 5.2 - alpha, i386, sparc

Red Hat Linux 6.2 - alpha, i386, sparc

Red Hat Linux 7.0 - alpha, i386

Red Hat Linux 7.1 - i386

3. Problem description:

Minicom contains a great number of format string abuses in it's usage
of several printf-like varargs functions.  The program was never written
with security in mind, and as such even though many format strings bugs
have been fixed in this release, there are many more lurking in the code.

This release solves the security problem by disabling setgid uucp on the
minicom binary.

4. Solution:

Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.

To update all RPMs for your particular architecture, run:

rpm -Fvh [filenames]

where [filenames] is a list of the RPMs you wish to upgrade.  Only those
RPMs which are currently installed will be updated.  Those RPMs which are
not installed but included in the list will not be updated.  Note that you
can also use wildcards (*.rpm) if your current directory *only* contains the
desired RPMs.

Please note that this update is also available via Red Hat Network.  Many
people find this an easier way to apply updates.  To use Red Hat Network,
launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate
RPMs being upgraded on your system.

5. Bug IDs fixed  ( for more info):

35613 - SGID uucp from minicom = format string + setgid uucp + makewhatis.cron bug

6. RPMs required:

Red Hat Linux 5.2:

SRPMS: 

alpha: 

i386: 

sparc: 

Red Hat Linux 6.2:

SRPMS: 

alpha: 

i386: 

sparc: 

Red Hat Linux 7.0:

SRPMS: 

alpha: 

i386: 

Red Hat Linux 7.1:

SRPMS: 

i386: 

7. Verification:

MD5 sum                           Package Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5991bffcfbe2900f4522c03b981ae0bb 5.2/en/os/SRPMS/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.5x.src.rpm
b0f31c02364c8fa9cc296eaa8e5e25d6 5.2/en/os/alpha/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.5x.alpha.rpm
e7875eb52e0b1166be8b1dd7e540dfa1 5.2/en/os/i386/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.5x.i386.rpm
2b844a4be94f692973c5d8e8e1cd0eb9 5.2/en/os/sparc/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.5x.sparc.rpm
d6ecd41e7df093ca62f8d1ab15a2d51c 6.2/en/os/SRPMS/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.6x.src.rpm
b27358ca1604b2ca5fa8ec6a34fa6349 6.2/en/os/alpha/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.6x.alpha.rpm
158495648d2d3f8a2636d345249fc01a 6.2/en/os/i386/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.6x.i386.rpm
ca9069a87bfa81fe730cb8f31378e57a 6.2/en/os/sparc/minicom-1.83.1-1.0.6x.sparc.rpm
eb41cbef4946cccb1e1e388a88bf4e88 7.0/en/os/SRPMS/minicom-1.83.1-8.src.rpm
2da88e6d8479ccb35078ec1a469b3568 7.0/en/os/alpha/minicom-1.83.1-8.alpha.rpm
5567d943ad44b7f44e332576edabdb5e 7.0/en/os/i386/minicom-1.83.1-8.i386.rpm
599a686fa0598467f5ee451f934c8a28 7.1/en/os/SRPMS/minicom-1.83.1-8.src.rpm
5cfe67255b3ec7df6c3f1b274da3c7ad 7.1/en/os/i386/minicom-1.83.1-8.i386.rpm

These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat, Inc. for security.  Our key
is available at:
     
You can verify each package with the following command:
    rpm --checksig  

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 

8. References:

None.


Copyright(c) 2000, 2001 Red Hat, Inc.