A flaw in a software-compression library used in all versions of Linux could leave the lion's share of systems based on the open-source operating system open to attack, said sources in the security community on Monday. Several other operating systems that . . .

A flaw in a software-compression library used in all versions of Linux could leave the lion's share of systems based on the open-source operating system open to attack, said sources in the security community on Monday. Several other operating systems that use open-source components could be vulnerable as well.

The software bug--known as a buffer overflow--caused key memory-management functions in the zlib compression library to fail, a condition that could allow a smart attacker to compromise Linux computers over the Internet, said Dave Wreski, director for open-source security company Guardian Digital.

"It is just a matter of time before an exploit is developed," Wreski said.

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