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______________________________________________________________________________
SUSE Security Announcement
Package: Linux Kernel
Announcement-ID: SuSE-SA:2004:005
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 18th 2004 23:05 MET
Affected products: 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0
SuSE Linux Database Server,
SuSE eMail Server III, 3.1
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7, 8
SuSE Linux Firewall on CD/Admin host
SuSE Linux Connectivity Server
SuSE Linux Office Server
Vulnerability Type: local privilege escalation
Severity (1-10): 6
SUSE default package: yes
Cross References: CAN-2004-0003
CAN-2004-0010
CAN-2004-0077
CAN-2004-0075
Content of this advisory:
1) security vulnerability resolved:
- do_mremap: insecure memory page management
- several local denial-of-service attacks
problem description, discussion, solution and upgrade information
2) pending vulnerabilities, solutions, workarounds:
- netpbm
- zebra
- susehelp
- mod_gzip
- mod_auth_shadow
- mod_python
- mutt
- mailman
- clamav
- XFree86/xf86
- libxml2
3) standard appendix (further information)
______________________________________________________________________________
1) problem description, brief discussion, solution, upgrade information
Another bug in the Kernel's do_mremap() function, which is unrelated to
the bug fixed in SuSE-SA:2004:001, was found by Paul Starzetz.
The do_mremap() function of the Linux Kernel is used to manage
Virtual Memory Areas (VMAs) which includes moving, removing and
resizing of memory areas. To remove old memory areas do_mremap()
uses the function du_munmap() without checking the return value.
By forcing do_munmap() to return an error the memory management of
a process can be tricked into moving page table entries from one VMA
to another. The destination VMA may be protected by a different ACL
which enables a local attacker to gain write access to previous read-only
pages.
The result will be local root access to the system.
Additionally to the bug mentioned above some other bugs were fixed
(depending on architecture) that can cause local denial-of-service
conditions:
- Vicam USB driver: CAN-2004-0075
+ denial-of-service due to problem while
copying data from user to kernel space
- Direct Render Infrastructure: CAN-2004-0003
+ denial-of-service due to integer overflow
+ needs r128 card and console to be exploited
- ncpfs/ncp_lookup: CAN-2004-0010
+ buffer overflow with the probability to
gain root
- execve():
+ malformed elf binaries can lead to a local
denial-of-service attack
SPECIAL INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
============================= The following paragraphs will guide you through the installation
process in a step-by-step fashion. The character sequence "****"
marks the beginning of a new paragraph. In some cases, you decide
if the paragraph is needed for you or not. Please read through all
of the steps down to the end. All of the commands that need to be
executed are required to be run as the superuser (root). Each step
relies on the steps before to complete successfully.
**** Step 1: Determine the needed kernel type
Please use the following command to find the kernel type that is
installed on your system:
rpm -qf /boot/vmlinuz
The following options are possible (disregarding the version and build
number following the name, separated by the "-" character):
k_deflt # default kernel, good for most systems.
k_i386 # ke for older processors and chipsets
k_athlon # kernel made specifically for AMD Athlon(tm) family processors k_psmp # kernel for Pentium-I dual processor systems
k_smp # kernel for SMP systems (Pentium-II and above)
k_smp4G # kernel for SMP systems which supports a maximum of 4G of RAM
**** Step 2: Download the package for your system
Please download the kernel RPM package for your distribution with the
name starting as indicated by Step 1. The list of all kernel rpm
packages is appended below. Note: The kernel-source package does not
contain any binary kernel in bootable form. Instead, it contains the
sources that the binary kernel rpm packages are made from. It can be
used by administrators who have decided to build their own kernel.
Since the kernel-source.rpm is an installable (compiled) package that
contains sources for the linux kernel, it is not the source RPM for
the kernel RPM binary packages.
The kernel RPM binary packages for the distributions can be found at these
locations below .
8.0/images/
8.1/rpm/i586
8.2/rpm/i586
9.0/rpm/i586
After downloading the kernel RPM package for your system, you should
verify the authenticity of the kernel rpm package using the methods as
listed in section 3) of each SUSE Security Announcement.
**** Step 3: Installing your kernel rpm package
Install the rpm package that you have downloaded in Steps 3 or 4 with
the command
rpm -Uhv --nodeps --force
where is the name of the rpm package that you downloaded.
Warning: After performing this step, your system will likely not be
able to boot if the following steps have not been fully
applied.
If you run SUSE LINUX 8.1 and haven't applied the previous
kernel update (SUSE-SA:2003:034), AND use the freeswan package,
you also need to update the freeswan rpm as a dependency as offered
by YOU (Yast Online Update). The package can be downloaded from
**** Step 4: configuring and creating the initrd
The initrd is a ramdisk that is being loaded into the memory of your
system together with the kernel boot image by the bootloader. The
kernel uses the content of this ramdisk to execute commands that must
be run before the kernel can mount its actual root filesystem. It is
usually used to initialize scsi drivers or NIC drivers for diskless
operation.
The variable INITRD_MODULES in /etc/sysconfig/kernel determines
which kernel modules will be loaded in the initrd before the kernel
has mounted its actual root filesystem. The variable should contain
your scsi adapter (if any) or filesystem driver modules.
With the installation of the new kernel, the initrd has to be
re-packed with the update kernel modules. Please run the command
mk_initrd
as root to create a new init ramdisk (initrd) for your system.
On SuSE Linux 8.1 and later, this is done automatically when the
RPM is installed.
**** Step 5: bootloader
If you have a 7.x system, you must now run the command
lilo
as root to initialize the lilo bootloader for your system. Then
proceed to the next step.
If you run a SUSE LINUX 8.x or a SLES8 system, there are two options:
Depending on your software configuration, you have the lilo bootloader
or the grub bootloader installed and initialized on your system.
The grub bootloader does not require any further actions to be
performed after the new kernel images have been moved in place by the
rpm Update command.
If you have a lilo bootloader installed and initialized, then the lilo
program must be run as root. Use the command
grep LOADER_TYPE /etc/sysconfig/bootloader
to find out which boot loader is configured. If it is lilo, then you
must run the lilo command as root. If grub is listed, then your system
does not require any bootloader initialization.
Warning: An improperly installed bootloader may render your system
unbootable.
**** Step 6: reboot
If all of the steps above have been successfully applied to your
system, then the new kernel including the kernel modules and the
initrd should be ready to boot. The system needs to be rebooted for
the changes to become active. Please make sure that all steps are
complete, then reboot using the command
shutdown -r now
or
init 6
Your system should now shut down and reboot with the new kernel.
Our maintenance customers are being notified individually. The packages
are being offered to install from the maintenance web.
There is no workaround known.
Please download the update package for your distribution and verify its
integrity by the methods listed in section 3) of this announcement.
Then, to apply the update use the command "rpm -Fhv file.rpm".
Our maintenance customers are being notified individually. The packages
are being offered to install from the maintenance web.
Due to unfinished functional evaluation testing the 8.0 kernel will be
released within the next few days.
Intel i386 Platform:
SuSE-9.0:
ecfbe03e394832b72a3b9c82eb126064
source rpm(s):
1bd070771a5dd094aa08cf38b1a044b9
c00538019717f0eb2c50d67468daf0ec
source rpm(s):
9f8882b0c598e160382640c0b0764239
aac234b34178e1027f0295efc0e59b21
source rpm(s):
618f890d3802b98b08f69e99c608f88d
9.0/rpm/i586/k_um-2.4.21-192.i586.rpm
ac6b4b271bdb7db1c6e906d30feeb509
source rpm(s):
73abafe183680051e36b0e06044dfaf1
90e0a63318e67e4d80bbf599e092a9e9
source rpm(s):
34871bc1783b214eb1abf1a3b08f7b08
2cb5ef97c015d72a911c2a99b6517e09
source rpm(s):
24933c7c1adf988494e98fd8da7895a9
SuSE-8.2:
1782b12abf777cea56e3093a6afd77d3
source rpm(s):
1851210f8db7acd6f0396a774032128e
63a528e967ea95c94357cbdb24b539fc
source rpm(s):
8.2/rpm/src/k_athlon-2.4.20-105.src.rpm
52497095cbf87ec168d0c7babb3ee416
3743e2d1f856541b9baf2c5f629a7ee6
source rpm(s):
502677799b511df2491cb87c9c35b997
d0711272b2d4de9a32b86ae83ae6a3e0
source rpm(s):
bb323ee3ca8654d9f547a0ba3d2ad430
2e9eef765ef10fcdfb17d96f6042ecdb
source rpm(s):
2251c37b3ead38d341ca3fc1558f23ba
SuSE-8.1:
268986c15003f47539f97847ca0a71ba
source rpm(s):
19a256181b4ccf094db7a1af53a286cf
d673923c542d3b0cd7f383f33b8a1818
source rpm(s):
8.1/rpm/src/k_athlon-2.4.21-189.src.rpm
96e3687da59d0e79246df6e385f0443d
165f881a57d953eeb078b82ff5c1c745
source rpm(s):
21fa38976e6dedbaa11e1a699b539021
e7126b41226074c4bed437e374055e9c
source rpm(s):
8.1/rpm/src/k_smp-2.4.21-189.src.rpm
ed4457abe00add59dd62185bfd560ec0
5e6d14000e873c83916871a284e34032
source rpm(s):
a42879b3e259630f0ffcc48e72b67385
Opteron x86_64 Platform:
SuSE-9.0:
f751f7c38b66fef72497cd20efe93e6d
source rpm(s):
7e4a005094d9db401fcff09edf02f8e3
460119617de7678ca0e81cd9cdc1b07d
source rpm(s):
54408250c4c6876d65b9e07c3633e355
afb38f0f8bb015110be9aab42536961f
source rpm(s):
d8bd2b7a61dea7e3166acf11f4bc35e0
______________________________________________________________________________
2) Pending vulnerabilities in SUSE Distributions and Workarounds:
- netpbm
Some tools in the netpbm suite create files in an insecure manner
that can lead to local privilege escalation.
New packages are available on our FTP servers.
- zebra
Local users can send malicious netlink messages that cause
denial-of-service conditions in zebra.
New packages are available on our FTP servers.
- susehelp
The susehelp package for SuSE Linux 9.0 contained CGI scripts which
allowed remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands as wwwrun user.
Additionally, certain ACL entries have been added to deny execution
of the susehelp CGI scripts from remote.
If you update your susehelp package manually, you have to invoke
the SuSEconfig command as root afterwards. You also have to restart
the HTTP server for the new ACLs to take effect.
New packages are available on our FTP servers.
- mod_gzip (apache-contrib)
The apache module mod_gzip is vulnerable to remote code execution
while running in debug-mode. We do not ship this module in debug-mode
but future versions will include the fix.
Additionally the mod_gzip code was audited to fix more possibly security
related bugs.
New packages are available on our FTP servers.
- mod_auth_shadow (apache-contrib)
This apache module ignores account expiration dates.
The update will be released together with mod_gzip.
New packages are available on our FTP servers.
- mod_python
A remote denial-of-service attack can be triggered against the Apache
web server by sending a specific query string that is processed by
mod_python.
New packages will be available soon.
- mutt
The popular email client mutt is vulnerable to a remote denial-of-service
attack and maybe remote command execution. The bug can be triggered by
malformed messages that overflow an internal buffer.
New packages will be available soon.
- mailman
A remote denial-of-service attack can be triggered in mailman 2.0.x
(CAN-2003-0991).
New packages will be available soon.
- clamav
A remote denial-of-service attack can be triggered in the anti-virus
scanner.
New packages will be available soon.
- XFree86/xf86
Several buffer overflows in the font-alias handling code can lead to
local root access. Packages are built and are being tested at the moment.
- libxml2
Two buffer overflows in the URI code can lead to remote system compromise.
New packages will be available soon.
______________________________________________________________________________
3) standard appendix: authenticity verification, additional information
- Package authenticity verification:
SUSE update packages are available on many mirror ftp servers all over
the world. While this service is being considered valuable and important
to the free and open source software community, many users wish to be
sure about the origin of the package and its content before installing
the package. There are two verification methods that can be used
independently from each other to prove the authenticity of a downloaded
file or rpm package:
1) md5sums as provided in the (cryptographically signed) announcement.
2) using the internal gpg signatures of the rpm package.
1) execute the command
md5sum
after you downloaded the file from a SUSE ftp server or its mirrors.
Then, compare the resulting md5sum with the one that is listed in the
announcement. Since the announcement containing the checksums is
cryptographically signed (usually using the key security@suse.de),
the checksums show proof of the authenticity of the package.
We disrecommend to subscribe to security lists which cause the
email message containing the announcement to be modified so that
the signature does not match after transport through the mailing
list software.
Downsides: You must be able to verify the authenticity of the
announcement in the first place. If RPM packages are being rebuilt
and a new version of a package is published on the ftp server, all
md5 sums for the files are useless.
2) rpm package signatures provide an easy way to verify the authenticity
of an rpm package. Use the command
rpm -v --checksig
to verify the signature of the package, where is the
filename of the rpm package that you have downloaded. Of course,
package authenticity verification can only target an un-installed rpm
package file.
Prerequisites:
a) gpg is installed
b) The package is signed using a certain key. The public part of this
key must be installed by the gpg program in the directory
~/.gnupg/ under the user's home directory who performs the
signature verification (usually root). You can import the key
that is used by SUSE in rpm packages for SUSE Linux by saving
this announcement to a file ("announcement.txt") and
running the command (do "su -" to be root):
gpg --batch; gpg < announcement.txt | gpg --import
SUSE Linux distributions version 7.1 and thereafter install the
key "build@suse.de" upon installation or upgrade, provided that
the package gpg is installed. The file containing the public key
is placed at the top-level directory of the first CD (pubring.gpg)
and at ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/pubring.gpg-build.suse.de .
- SUSE runs two security mailing lists to which any interested party may
subscribe:
suse-security@suse.com
- general/linux/SUSE security discussion.
All SUSE security announcements are sent to this list.
To subscribe, send an email to
.
suse-security-announce@suse.com
- SUSE's announce-only mailing list.
Only SUSE's security announcements are sent to this list.
To subscribe, send an email to
.
For general information or the frequently asked questions (faq)
send mail to:
or
respectively.
==================================================================== SUSE's security contact is or .
The public key is listed below.
====================================================================
