Overly broad permissions can turn one compromised account into a much larger security problem. Learn how to reduce unnecessary access, review privileges, and apply least privilege across modern Linux systems. Review Linux Privileges×

Alerts This Week
Warning Icon 1 525
Alerts This Week
Warning Icon 1 525

Red Hat: Update RHSA-2011-1694-03 for libcap Security Issue

red hat
Calendar Grey December 6, 2011
Scroller Redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has released an update for libcap, addressing a minor security vulnerability and resolving a bug; users are advised to upgrade.
Updated libcap packages that fix one security issue and one bug are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Solution

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

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259

Summary

The libcap packages provide a library and tools for getting and setting POSIX capabilities.
It was found that capsh did not change into the new root when using the "--chroot" option. An application started via the "capsh --chroot" command could use this flaw to escape the chroot restrictions. (CVE-2011-4099)
This update also fixes the following bug:
* Previously, the libcap packages did not contain the capsh(1) manual page. With this update, the capsh(1) manual page is included. (BZ#730957)
All libcap users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory security issue Red Hat low severity libcap

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-4099 https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#low

Package List

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6):
Source:
i386: libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm
x86_64: libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6):
Source:
i386: libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm
x86_64: libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6):
Source:
x86_64: libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6):
Source:
x86_64: libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6):
Source:
i386: libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm libcap-devel-2.16-5.5.el6.i686.rpm
ppc64: libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.ppc.rpm libcap-2.16-5.5.el6.ppc64.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.ppc.rpm libcap-debuginfo-2.16-5.5.el6.ppc64.rpm

Read the Full Advisory


Severity
low
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

Advisory ID: RHSA-2011:1694-03
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2011:1694.html
Issue date: 2011-12-06

Topic

Updated libcap packages that fix one security issue and one bug are nowavailable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having lowsecurity impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score,which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link inthe References section.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory security issue Red Hat low severity libcap

Relevant Releases Architectures

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) - i386, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) - i386, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) - x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) - x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) - i386, ppc64, s390x, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) - i386, x86_64

Bugs Fixed

722694 - CVE-2011-4099 capsh: does not chdir after chroot

730957 - Add missing capsh man page in libcap

Get the latest News and Insights

Get the latest Linux and open source security news straight to your inbox.