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Ubuntu Security Notice USN-1415-1: libtar vulnerability impact

gentoo
Calendar Grey February 21, 2014
Scroller Gentoo
Gentoo advisory GLSA 202103-12 addresses a critical vulnerability in libarchive that may lead to remote code execution or service disruption.
A buffer overflow in libtar might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a Denial of Service condition.

Summary

An integer overflow error within the “th_read()” function when processing long names or link extensions can be exploited to cause a heap-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted archive.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory denial of service gentoo buffer overflow code execution normal severity libtar

Resolution

All libtar users should upgrade to the latest version: # emerge --sync # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-libs/libtar-1.2.20-r2"

References

[ 1 ] CVE-2013-4397 http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2013-4397

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201402-19
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Concerns

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users' machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at https://bugs.gentoo.org.

Severity: Normal
Title: libtar: Arbitraty code execution
Date: February 21, 2014
Bugs: #487420
ID: 201402-19

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory denial of service gentoo buffer overflow code execution normal severity libtar

Synopsis

A buffer overflow in libtar might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a Denial of Service condition.

Background

libtar is a C library for manipulating POSIX tar files.

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Affected Packages

------------------------------------------------------------------- Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 dev-libs/libtar < 1.2.20-r2 >= 1.2.20-r2

Impact

===== A remote attacker could entice a user to open a specially crafted file using a program linked against libtar, possibly resulting in execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the process or a Denial of Service condition.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.