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SuSE 7.0 Security Advisory Critical: Screen Local Root Access Threat

screen, a tty multiplexer, is installed suid root by default on SuSE Linux distributions.. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ______________________________________________________________________________ SuSE Security Announcement Package: screen Date: Wednesday, September 6th, 2000 19:35 MEST Affected SuSE versions: 5.3, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.0 Vulnerability Type: local root compromise Severity (1-10): 8 SuSE default package: yes Other affected systems: all linux systems with the screen program installed suid root Content of this advisory: 1) security vulnerability resolved: screen problem description, discussion, solution and upgrade information 2) pending vulnerabilities, temporary workarounds 3) standard appendix (further information) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1) problem description, brief discussion, solution, upgrade information screen, a tty multiplexer, is installed suid root by default on SuSE Linux distributions. By supplying a thoughtfully designed string as the visual bell message, local users can obtain root privilege. Exploit information has been published on security forums. The temporary workaround for this problem would be to remove the suid bit from /usr/bin/screen*. This also requires mode changes in the /tmp/screens directory where the pipes for communication between the client and server part of screen are placed upon start of screen. SuSE provides an update for the vulnerable screen package. It is strongly recommended to upgrade to the latest version found on our ftp server as described below. The update packages remove all currently known security problems in the glibc package. Download the update package from locations desribed below and install the package with thecommand `rpm -Fhv 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-7.0 84b6330f0b9ac7600cc5ec53a9dfdbe9 source rpm: 883d80abf603a4eab2238a4e857301e2 SuSE-6.4 52f451ce0c8c49e02311dd16961aa028 source rpm: a3cb0fb2c90664c6deb986fcbf4e74fd SuSE-6.3 2c244140d346b16a3d5fb77e2cf1f860 source rpm: 2c84eadb44a5694dc3088000fff5ec82 SuSE-6.2 a72973a281467a1b390453ba2cbf3b59 source rpm: a379e5b4ca81cf4118002c3064d1c3da SuSE-6.1 d64479b7ba3740299acf717fe36c3834 source rpm: e0b08bc5887c40d9f6e3176936c7150b SuSE-6.0 Please use the update packages from the 6.1 directory for SuSE-6.0! SuSE-5.3 cd3ef3bc018973d8907000a8a23bafb6 source rpm: f94c9664219649a2f2100344a88cdd22 Sparc Platform: SuSE-7.0 3adce8a1bcf2464266d5db728b8d8af9 source rpm: 26b1186598be0f873732fa5bf7b7b77b AXP Alpha Platform: SuSE-6.4 aa64d979f33d3c03b5bc0c5074892df8 source rpm: 11f2261b54e8a329c8b0d1bfd9d0c96f SuSE-6.3 8e5acd8e3fe9efa7d82e2710489c7300 source rpm: 6a1c04d9dd4f8c351e189a38f6f5d614 SuSE-6.1 54828e3e9f0c72cc022fb35660c687e8 source rpm: e1ff18f05b40afa7849e7d07ae5b8755 PPC Power PC Platform: SuSE-6.4 7418b948cf1e92622814c8aae3fa9aa6 source rpm: 25c8979ec0f63f09a3e39cdadf2ef657 SuSE-6.3 ea459ccb8c91b293e8b2b321df39be89 source rpm: aa87f61ec2fa912be6c83711c0630129 ______________________________________________________________________________ 2) Pending vulnerabilities in SuSE Distributions and Workarounds: This section addresses currently known vulnerabilities in Linux/Unix systems that have not been resolved yet as of the release date of this advisory. - zope SuSE distributions before 7.0 do not contain zope as a package. An updated package for the freshly released SuSE-7.0 is on the way. - xchat A fix for the URL handler vulnerabilty is in progress and will be released within a few days. There is currently no effective and easy workaround other than removing the package by hand (`rpm -e xchat'). More information on xchat can be found in xchat's documentation directory /usr/doc/packages/xchat or /usr/share/doc/packages/xchat for SuSE-7.0. ______________________________________________________________________________ 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 . ============================================== Regards, Roman Drahtmüller. - - -- - - | Roman Drahtmüller // "Caution: Cape does | SuSE GmbH - Security Phone: // not enable user to fly." | Nürnberg, Germany +49-911-740530 // (Batman Costume warning label) | - - ______________________________________________________________________________ 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 security advisory. Type Bits/KeyID Date User ID pub 2048/3D25D3D9 1999/03/06 SuSE Security Team - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i mQENAzbhLQQAAAEIAKAkXHe0lWRBXLpn38hMHy03F0I4Sszmoc8aaKJrhfhyMlOA BqvklPLE2f9UrI4Xc860gH79ZREwAgPt0pi6+SleNFLNcNFAuuHMLQOOsaMFatbz JR9i4m/lf6q929YROu5zB48rBAlcfTm+IBbijaEdnqpwGib45wE/Cfy6FAttBHQh 1Kp+r/jPbf1mYAvljUfHKuvbg8t2EIQz/5yGp+n5trn9pElfQO2cRBq8LFpf1l+U P7EKjFmlOq+Gs/fF98/dP3DfniSd78LQPq5vp8RL8nr/o2i7jkAQ33m4f1wOBWd+ cZovrKXYlXiR+Bf7m2hpZo+/sAzhd7LmAD0l09kABRG0JVN1U0UgU2VjdXJpdHkg VGVhbSA8c2VjdXJpdHlAc3VzZS5kZT6JARUDBRA24S1H5Fiyh7HKPEUBAVcOB/9b yHYji1/+4Xc2GhvXK0FSJN0MGgeXgW47yxDL7gmR4mNgjlIOUHZj0PEpVjWepOJ7 tQS3L9oP6cpj1Fj/XxuLbkp5VCQ61hpt54coQAvYrnT9rtWEGN+xmwejT1WmYmDJ xG+EGBXKr+XP69oIUl1E2JO3rXeklulgjqRKos4cdXKgyjWZ7CP9V9daRXDtje63 Om8gwSdU/nCvhdRIWp/Vwbf7Ia8iZr9OJ5YuQl0DBG4qmGDDrvImgPAFkYFzwlqo choXFQ9y0YVCV41DnR+GYhwl2qBd81T8aXhihEGPIgaw3g8gd8B5o6mPVgl+nJqI BkEYGBusiag2pS6qwznZiQEVAwUQNuEtBHey5gA9JdPZAQFtOAf+KVh939b0J94u v/kpg4xs1LthlhquhbHcKNoVTNspugiC3qMPyvSX4XcBr2PC0cVkS4Z9PY9iCfT+ x9WM96g39dAF+le2CCx7XISk9XXJ4ApEy5g4AuK7NYgAJd39PPbERgWnxjxir9g0 Ix30dS30bW39D+3NPU5Ho9TD/B7UDFvYT5AWHl3MGwo3a1RhTs6sfgL7yQ3U+mvq MkTExZb5mfN1FeaYKMopoI4VpzNVeGxQWIz67VjJHVyUlF20ekOz4kWVgsxkc8G2 saqZd6yv2EwqYTi8BDAduweP33KrQc4KDDommQNDOXxaKOeCoESIdM4p7Esdjq1o L0oixF12Cg==pIeS - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset:noconv iQEVAwUBObaAlXey5gA9JdPZAQHi5gf9FE0NBzriT2G37ogRKRdENNXEZhWmj5fa vUcFBeGXvJzRxIabFbyqGfIlONp+SKdbxJqVpxBBXB+NaFYAAEtLIgjKA+DUOThQ DZjFVouMiuzwROl8JZU33GCNjqGh+97ImBA4LlVymFm603fgRllYZV2+TsqeWarE s2xIzB9z4GlLbyG/X/bM0tAOoPKiEl3hiTdWM7tAgXVoiTkdVBOYGDR/9wmMNiEU ZNkxdq5OJUcNd4Pa4vbnxTLPUEdBhQmZgWvfP+9v45FylkgTuRXrcCcyRj6YVVdC oOgB050z1zr56fVCClGKeOvgTKACwrUMX7pyIeG0HZCWGU+Ag+SsHw==WVPy -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- . -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- _________________________________________________________________. screen, multiplexer, installed, default, linux, distributions, -----begin. . Severity: Critical. LinuxSecurity.com Team

Sep 06, 2000 •Critical SuSE