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Ubuntu 12.10: USN-1762-1 Critical: APT Package Installation Threat

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Calendar Grey March 14, 2013
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Ubuntu Security Notice USN-1770-1 details a vulnerability in the APT system that permits adversaries to deploy tampered packages. Patch issued.
An attacker could trick APT into installing altered packages.

Summary

An attacker could trick APT into installing altered packages.

Software Description:

- apt: Advanced front-end for dpkg

Details:

Ansgar Burchardt discovered that APT incorrectly handled repositories that

use InRelease files. The default Ubuntu repositories do not use InRelease

files, so this issue only affected third-party repositories. If a remote

attacker were able to perform a man-in-the-middle attack, this flaw could

potentially be used to install altered packages.

This update corrects the issue by disabling InRelease file support

completely.

Update Instructions

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following
package versions:

Ubuntu 12.10:
  apt                             0.9.7.5ubuntu5.4

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS:
  apt                             0.8.16~exp12ubuntu10.10

Ubuntu 11.10:
  apt                             0.8.16~exp5ubuntu13.7

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-1762-1

CVE-2013-1051

Severity
critical
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

March 14, 2013

Package Information

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