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             __________________________________________________________

                         The U.S. Department of Energy
                      Computer Incident Advisory Capability
                             ___  __ __    _     ___
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             __________________________________________________________

                             INFORMATION BULLETIN

         splitvt(1) vulnerability

January 9, 1995 2000 GMT                                           Number G-08
______________________________________________________________________________

PROBLEM:        A vulnerability has been discovered in splitvt(1) versions
    prior to 1.6.3 which may allow local users to gain root 
    access.
PLATFORM:  Slackware versions of Linux, also other Linux and UNIX
    operating systems with splitvt installed (pre-1.6.3 versions)
DAMAGE:         Users logged into a system may gain unauthorized root
    privileges.
SOLUTION:       Use the workaround contained in this bulletin to obtain an
    updated patched version of splitvt.
AVAILABILITY:  See the workaround that is contained in this bulletin
______________________________________________________________________________

VULNERABILITY   Unprivileged users who are logged on to a system can use this 
ASSESSMENT:     vulnerability to gain unauthorized root privileges.  An 
    exploit program for this vulnerability has been published
    publically. CIAC advises that the workaround described below 
    be performed immediately.
______________________________________________________________________________

[The following information has been reprinted from the AUSCERT bulletin,
 number AL-95.06a, January 3rd, 1996]

        Information on the splitvt(1) vulnerability

A vulnerability has been discovered in the splitvt(1) utility which may allow
local users to gain root access.  This utility is included in many
standard Linux distributions including, but not necessarily limited to,
numerous Slackware versions.  The source code for this utility is publicly
available and operating systems other than Linux which have splitvt(1)
installed may also be vulnerable.

This vulnerability exists in splitvt(1) versions prior to 1.6.3.

Description
- -----------
The splitvt(1) utility is a publicly available program for running
multiple shells in a split window.  A vulnerability exists in versions
prior to 1.6.3 which may allow users to gain root access.  The version
may be identified using the command "splitvt -version".  

The splitvt(1) utility is included as part of the standard installation
of numerous Slackware Linux distributions.  Other Linux distributions
and sites which are not running Linux, but have splitvt(1) installed,
may also be vulnerable.

Workaround
- ----------
This vulnerability has been removed in splitvt version 1.6.3.  Sites
that require splitvt(1) are encouraged to upgrade to this version.  It
is available from:

         ftp://dandelion.ceres.ca.gov/pub/splitvt

    The MD5 checksum is:

         MD5 (splitvt-1.6.3.tar) = eec2fe2c5b4a3958261197905a9d9c81

    An interim solution until the official patch is installed is to restrict 
    the permissions and remove the setuid bit from splitvt(1).  As root:

  # chmod 700 /usr/bin/splitvt

    Note: This workaround causes splitvt(1) to become unavailable for
    use by non privileged users.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUSCERT wishes to thank Sam Lantinga for his rapid response in addressing
this vulnerability and Alexander O. Yuriev for his assistance in this matter.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CIAC wishes to acknowledge the AUSCERT team for providing the information 
contained in this bulletin.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer
security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and 
the backup team for the National Institute of Health (NIH). CIAC is located 
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC 
is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and 
Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and 
coordination among computer security teams worldwide.

CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be 
contacted at:
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    E-mail:   ciac@llnl.gov

For emergencies and off-hour assistance, DOE, DOE contractor sites, and the 
NIH may contact CIAC 24-hours a day. During off hours (5PM - 8AM PST), call 
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available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. 

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PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing 
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This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the
United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the
University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty,
express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the
accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product,
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be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

LAST 10 CIAC BULLETINS ISSUED (Previous bulletins available from CIAC)

(F-26)  OSF/DCE Security Hole
(F-27)  Incorrect Permissions on /tmp
(F-28)  Vulnerability in SunOS 4.1.* Sendmail (-oR option)
(G-1)   Telnetd Vulnerability
(G-2)   SunOS 4.1.X Loadmodule Vulnerability
(G-3)   AOLGOLD Trojan Program
(G-4)   X Authentication Vulnerability
(G-5)   HP-UX FTP Vulnerability Bulletin
(G-6A)  Win95 Vulnerabilities
(G-7)  SGI Objectserver Vulnerability

RECENT CIAC NOTES ISSUED (Previous Notes available from CIAC)

Notes 07 - 3/29/95   A comprehensive review of SATAN

Notes 08 - 4/4/95    A Courtney update

Notes 09 - 4/24/95   More on the "Good Times" virus urban legend

Notes 10 - 6/16/95   PKZ300B Trojan, Logdaemon/FreeBSD, vulnerability
                     in S/Key, EBOLA Virus Hoax, and Caibua Virus

Notes 11 - 7/31/95   Virus Update, Hats Off to Administrators,
                     America On-Line Virus Scare, SPI 3.2.2 Released, 
                     The Die_Hard Virus

Notes 12 - 9/12/95   Securely configuring Public Telnet Services, X Windows, 
                     beta release of Merlin, Microsoft Word Macro Viruses,
                     Allegations of Inappropriate Data Collection in Win95




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