---

SUSE Linux Advisory: rsync


SUSE Security Announcement

Package: rsync
Announcement-ID: SUSE-SA:2004:026
Date: Monday, Aug 16th 2004 16:00 MEST
Affected products: 8.1, 8.2, 9.0, 9.1 SUSE Linux Database Server,
SUSE eMail Server III, 3.1 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, 9 SUSE
Linux Firewall on CD/Admin host SUSE Linux Connectivity Server SUSE
Linux Office Server
Vulnerability Type: remote system compromise
Severity (1-10): 2
SUSE default package: no
Cross References: http://samba.org/rsync/#security_aug04

Content of this advisory:

  1. security vulnerability resolved:
    • insufficient pathname sanitizing problem description
  2. solution/workaround
  3. special instructions and notes
  4. package location and checksums
  5. pending vulnerabilities, solutions, workarounds:
    • KDE
    • mozilla/firefox
    • xine-lib
    • opera
    • acroread
  6. standard appendix (further information)

1) problem description, brief discussion

The rsync-team released an advisory about a security problem in
rsync. If rsync is running in daemon-mode and without a chroot
environment it is possible for a remote attacker to trick rsyncd
into creating an absolute pathname while sanitizing it. As a result
it is possible to read/write from/to files outside the rsync
directory.

SUSE LINUX ships the rsync daemon with a chroot environment
enabled by default, therefore the default setup is not
vulnerable.

2) solution/workaround

As a temporary workaround we suggest to keep the chroot-option
of rsyncd enabled or to avoid the daemon-mode and use SSH as
transport channel if possible.

3) special instructions and notes

After applying the update, all instances of the rsyncd should be
closed and the rsync daemon should be restarted. Please execute the
following command as root: ‘rcrsyncd restart’

4) package location and checksums

Please download the update package for your distribution and
verify its integrity by the methods listed in section 3) of this
announcement. Then, install the package using the command “rpm -Fhv
file.rpm” to apply the update.
Our maintenance customers are being notified individually. The
packages are being offered to install from the maintenance web.

x86 Platform:

SUSE Linux 9.1:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.1/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.i586.rpm

afa5b8894e2d1acff4b040e8ba515ae4
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.1/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.i586.patch.rpm

c0bf6dcf573a9a4197da0977ea638f2a
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.1/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.src.rpm

f31f409225560bd1ac1d5fb5f0d8c43e

SUSE Linux 9.0:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.0/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-26.i586.rpm

5d7be9a510a4a5fafccbc29c63b0dec8
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.0/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-26.i586.patch.rpm

70809462c5d88bc8241b544100689efe
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/9.0/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-26.src.rpm

f92d91816456f0e626ea1ee41ebe8b65

SUSE Linux 8.2:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.2/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-26.i586.rpm

4f901dee110596bf2a48a24d8d094b71
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.2/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-26.i586.patch.rpm

c7260721ec51a569309cd4629a3a5ad1
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.2/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-26.src.rpm

fcd540a8e89c864b56cbad7d60696450

SUSE Linux 8.1:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.1/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-25.i586.rpm

193752687ef1d98a5ebec4ff471842b1
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.1/rpm/i586/rsync-2.6.2-25.i586.patch.rpm

9b6225e3bd2ff624f5f61bd6b033e8b8
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.1/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-25.src.rpm

0f649de8547008aa5e2a977ff209fca3

x86-64 Platform:

SUSE Linux 9.1:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.1/rpm/x86_64/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.x86_64.rpm

745a09fdbccc7ccfea9705f54a6825a3
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.1/rpm/x86_64/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.x86_64.patch.rpm

725b10d1703f6ee41185564d08b151d3
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.1/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-8.9.src.rpm

6145ed8346ebfd63863734b30fc3a8e9

SUSE Linux 9.0:

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.0/rpm/x86_64/rsync-2.6.2-26.x86_64.rpm

20d3b3f8b3fde71ae1c3f0eed22feee0
patch rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.0/rpm/x86_64/rsync-2.6.2-26.x86_64.patch.rpm

9bc24b61361c74f37e4fd81e8e7faa98
source rpm(s):

ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/x86_64/update/9.0/rpm/src/rsync-2.6.2-26.src.rpm

599e9f0a19fd2890499c863cd0394598


5) Pending vulnerabilities in SUSE Distributions and
Workarounds:

  • KDE The KDE libs package contained two occurrences of insecure
    handling of temporary files in the mcoputils code (Thanks to Andrew
    Tuitt for reporting this to us) and in the dcopserver code. These
    two bugs can be exploited locally to remove and/or overwrite files
    with the privileges of the user running a vulnerable KDE
    application. A bug in the kdebase3 package allows the content of
    unrelated browser windows to be modified. This issue may be used to
    trick users into entering sensitive informations on a malicious
    web-site. New packages are available on our FTP servers.
  • mozilla/firefox We are currently testing new mozilla/firefox
    packages that include several fixes for security-related bugs. New
    packages are available on our FTP servers (for some products we
    have to delay the delivery of the update package).
  • xine-lib This update of xine fix’ a buffer overflow in the vcd
    input source identifier. This buffer overflow is independent of the
    media format. The bug can be used to execute arbitrary commands.
    New packages are available on our FTP servers.
  • opera The web-browser opera is affected by several security
    bugs. Due to the nature of this package we are not able to provide
    security updates in a timely manner and have to wait for binary
    packages to be published by “Opera Software”.
  • acroread iDEFENSE reported a buffer overflow and insecure
    handling of shell meta-chars in acroread code. We depend on the
    release of a new binary package by Adobe. An update will be
    available as soon as possible.

6) 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.
    3. execute the command md5sum <name-of-the-file.rpm> 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.
    4. rpm package signatures provide an easy way to verify the
      authenticity of an rpm package. Use the command rpm -v –checksig
      <file.rpm> to verify the signature of the package, where
      <file.rpm> 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:

      1. gpg is installed
      2. 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-subscribe@suse.com>.

suse-security-announce@suse.com

For general information or the frequently asked questions (faq)
send mail to:

<suse-security-info@suse.com>
or
<suse-security-faq@suse.com>
respectively.


SUSE’s security contact is <security@suse.com> or
<security@suse.de>. The
<security@suse.de>
public key is listed below.



The information in this advisory may be distributed or
reproduced, provided that the advisory is not modified in any way.
In particular, it is desired that the clear-text signature shows
proof of the authenticity of the text.
SUSE Linux AG makes no warranties of any kind whatsoever with
respect to the information contained in this security advisory.

Type Bits/KeyID Date User ID
pub 2048R/3D25D3D9 1999-03-06 SuSE Security Team <security@suse.de>
pub 1024D/9C800ACA 2000-10-19 SuSE Package Signing Key <build@suse.de>

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