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SuSE Linux 6.1-7.1 Advisory 2001:09 Moderate: Joe Local Escalation

A bug in joe(1), a userfriendly text editor, was found by Christer Öberg of Wkit Security AB a few weeks ago.. ______________________________________________________________________________ SuSE Security Announcement Package: joe Announcement-ID: SuSE-SA:2001:09 Date: Tuesday, March 27th, 2001 17.03 MEST Affected SuSE versions: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1 Vulnerability Type: local privilege escalation Severity (1-10): 3 SuSE default package: yes Other affected systems: all system using joe Content of this advisory: 1) security vulnerability resolved: joe problem description, discussion, solution and upgrade information 2) pending vulnerabilities, solutions, workarounds 3) standard appendix (further information) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1) problem description, brief discussion, solution, upgrade information A bug in joe(1), a userfriendly text editor, was found by Christer Öberg of Wkit Security AB a few weeks ago. After starting joe(1) it tries to open its configuration file joerc in the current directory, the users home directory and some other locations. joe(1) doesn't check the ownership of joerc when trying the current directory. An attacker could place a malicious joerc file in a public writeable directory, like /tmp, to execute commands with the privilege of any user (including root), which runs joe while being in this directory. Download the update package from locations desribed below and install the package with the command `rpm -Uhv file.rpm'. The md5sum for each file is in the line below. You can verify the integrity of the rpm files using the command `rpm --checksig --nogpg file.rpm', independently from the md5 signatures below. i386 Intel Platform: SuSE-7.1 3140f1eb79eb246ad98f7687de517371 source rpm: 0c04bb25b8ae452f1fcdfe11af32e1b6 SuSE-7.0 2a406de36322fc7bc28aaeca0bbdf54d source rpm: 2aac0d130597d580d96c75d59397958c SuSE-6.4 348a5e4a981f76943c77431606e5c3b2 source rpm: 9f938aa365460257baf56f5f92f565ee SuSE-6.3 236ec54a0251859e1c2c1fc4018b5dae source rpm: 49b638dd238cacc8e99048ee5a8024ea SuSE-6.2 094577b41a2ad5baa0d16f4d53378d0e source rpm: 78333a2bac40b08db1e54ccaf1380caf SuSE-6.1 72fbb78af21f3878f1ae8b8bc87c96f4 source rpm: b4fbe27a24bf66d60db45da3c3d13020 Sparc Platform: SuSE-7.1 eeb78e413ee0b48d39ccdab29228ae80 source rpm: f29199161ffd38f3f26c82b5d21ba89b SuSE-7.0 d1d70f58df37de53f05734d90be596fa source rpm: 45091ece9cb66e4f093d07b0386fd2b9 AXP Alpha Platform: SuSE-7.0 85e609519bbfbbc0be5aec7b8de2dffc source rpm: ce623f8a73b1f6395eb9498324cc1e21 SuSE-6.4 d930c6a2f0757f51f04409946f6152f8 source rpm: 0b20e5bd36f0feeaf78cb4815566e982 SuSE-6.3 6278e4dd4a42d4e091d1a08e3f617fa2 source rpm: 88f428cc9c916b9159dfb54144c7802e SuSE-6.1 3e531066b0495be2261f02ef2d4583f0 source rpm: 1d7796f1fad01365e40a944f0db84470 PPC PowerPC Platform: SuSE-7.1 f11094b9f1afeb04786030e3a140ed03 source rpm: 4058ea46c9d75976a24a6ac419fc19d5 SuSE-7.0 c385a2ca601cf9b01ad2d39433d6a872 source rpm: b667ea68d356a9582d3696ad68869c69 SuSE-6.4 4f6c2c20e961aea4987381d12692af6c source rpm: 8c3ebda871c54afc11a24d80d207c34e ______________________________________________________________________________ 2) Pending vulnerabilities in SuSE Distributions and Workarounds: - We are inthe process of preparing update packages for the man package which has been found vulnerable to a commandline format string bug. The man command is installed suid man on SuSE systems. When exploited, the bug can be used to install a different man binary to introduce a trojan into the system. As an interim workaround, we recommend to `chmod -s /usr/bin/man´ and ignore the warnings and errors when viewing manpages. - The file browser MidnightCommander (mc) is vulnerable to unwanted program execution. Updates are currently being built. - Two bugs were found in the text editor vim. These bugs are currently being fixed. - A bufferoverflow in sudo was discovered and fixed RPMs will be available as soon as possible. A exploit was not made public until now. ______________________________________________________________________________ 3) standard appendix: SuSE runs two security mailing lists to which any interested party may subscribe: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - general/linux/SuSE security discussion. All SuSE security announcements are sent to this list. To subscribe, send an email to . This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - SuSE's announce-only mailing list. Only SuSE's security annoucements are sent to this list. To subscribe, send an email to . For general information or the frequently asked questions (faq) send mail to: or respectively. ============================================== SuSE's security contact is . ============================================== ______________________________________________________________________________ The information in this advisory may be distributed or reproduced, provided that the advisory is not modified in any way. SuSE GmbH makes no warranties of any kind whatsoever with respect to the information contained in this securityadvisory. . Critical local privilege elevation flaw discovered in joe text editor affects multiple SuSE versions. Promptly apply updates to mitigate possible risks.. SuSE Update, Joe Exploit, Local Escalation, Text Editor Risk, Security Advisory. . LinuxSecurity.com Team

Mar 28, 2001 SuSE