[slackware-security] utempter security update
(SSA:2004-110-01)
New utempter packages are available for Slackware 9.1 and
-current to fix a security issue. (Slackware 9.1 was the first
version of Slackware to use the libutempter library, and earlier
versions of Slackware are not affected by this issue)
The utempter package provides a utility and shared library that
allows terminal applications such as xterm and screen to update
/var/run/utmp and /var/log/wtmp without requiring root privileges.
Steve Grubb has identified an issue with utempter-0.5.2 where under
certain circumstances an attacker could cause it to overwrite files
through a symlink. This has been addressed by upgrading the
utempter package to use Dmitry V. Levin’s new implementation of
libutempter that does not have this bug.
More details about this issue may be found in the Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database:
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2004-0233
Here are the details from the Slackware 9.1 ChangeLog:
+————————–+
Mon Apr 19 13:51:01 PDT 2004
patches/packages/utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz: Upgraded to
libutempter-1.1.1 (this is a new version written by Dmitry V. Levin
of ALT Linux). This upgrade fixes a low-level security issue in
utempter-0.5.2 where utempter could possibly be tricked into
writing through a symlink, and is a cleaner implementation
all-around.
For more details, see:
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2004-0233
(* Security fix *)
+————————–+
WHERE TO FIND THE NEW PACKAGE:
Updated package for Slackware 9.1:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz
Updated package for Slackware -current:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz
MD5 SIGNATURES:
Slackware 9.1 package:
839cd39cb90f31253d5bc4c028c28fe1 utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz
Slackware -current package:
97ce776901ca9b20ffe916228a487729 utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Upgrade the package as root:
# upgradepkg utempter-1.1.1-i486-1.tgz
+—–+
Slackware Linux Security Team
http://slackware.com/gpg-key
security@slackware.com