An updated vsftpd package that fixes a security issue is now available. The version of vsftpd as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 when used in combination with Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) had a memory leak on an invalid authentication attempt. Since vsftpd prior to version 2.0.5 allows any number of invalid attempts on the same connection this memory leak could lead to an eventual DoS.

====================================================================                   Red Hat Security Advisory

Synopsis:          Moderate: vsftpd security update
Advisory ID:       RHSA-2008:0579-01
Product:           Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL:      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2008:0579.html
Issue date:        2008-07-24
CVE Names:         CVE-2008-2375 
====================================================================
1. Summary:

An updated vsftpd package that fixes a security issue is now available.

This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red
Hat Security Response Team.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3 - i386, ia64, ppc, s390, s390x, x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3 - i386, ia64, x86_64

3. Description:

vsftpd (Very Secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) daemon) is a secure FTP
server for Linux and Unix-like systems.

The version of vsftpd as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 when used in
combination with Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) had a memory leak
on an invalid authentication attempt. Since vsftpd prior to version 2.0.5
allows any number of invalid attempts on the same connection this memory
leak could lead to an eventual DoS. (CVE-2008-2375)

This update mitigates this security issue by including a backported patch
which terminates a session after a given number of failed log in attempts.
The default number of attempts is 3 and this can be configured using the
"max_login_fails" directive.

All vsftpd users should upgrade to this updated package, which addresses
this vulnerability.

4. Solution:

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network.  Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at

5. Bugs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

453376 - CVE-2008-2375 older vsftpd authentication memory leak

6. Package List:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3:

Source:

i386:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.i386.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.i386.rpm

ia64:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.ia64.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.ia64.rpm

ppc:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.ppc.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.ppc.rpm

s390:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.s390.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.s390.rpm

s390x:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.s390x.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.s390x.rpm

x86_64:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.x86_64.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.x86_64.rpm

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3:

Source:

i386:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.i386.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.i386.rpm

ia64:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.ia64.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.ia64.rpm

x86_64:
vsftpd-1.2.1-3E.16.x86_64.rpm
vsftpd-debuginfo-1.2.1-3E.16.x86_64.rpm

These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat for security.  Our key and 
details on how to verify the signature are available from
https://access.redhat.com/security/team/key#package

7. References:

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-2375
https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification#moderate

8. Contact:

The Red Hat security contact is .  More contact
details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/

Copyright 2008 Red Hat, Inc.