NGSSoftware Insight Security Research Advisory

Name: Multiple Password Exposures Flaws
Systems Affected: All versions of Informix
Severity: High
Vendor URL: http://www.ibm.com/
Author: David Litchfield [ davidl@ngssoftware.com ]
Date of Public Advisory: 2nd August 2006
Advisory number: #NISR02082006E
CVEID: http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-3858
Advisory URL: http://www.ngssoftware.com/research/

Description
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Informix Dynamic Server is a database developed by IBM. During a security 
assessment of Informix multiple password exposure flaws were discovered.


Details
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When a user logs on to an Informix server their cleartext password can be 
found in a shared memory section. On Windows "everyone" can open the section 
and read the contents and thus gain access to the passwords for every logged 
on user. On both Linux and Windows, in the event of a crash the share memory 
is dumped in a log file which is world readable.

Fix Information
***************
IBM was alerted to these flaws on the 10th January 2005. Patches have now 
been made available.

NGSSQuirreL for Informix, an advanced vulnerability assessment scanner 
designed specifically for Informix, can be used to accurately determine 
whether your servers are vulnerable to this flaw. More information about 
NGSSQuirreL for Informix can be found here 
http://www.ngssoftware.com/products/database-security/ngs-squirrel-informix.php

About NGSSoftware
*****************

NGSSoftware develops vulnerability assessment and compliancy tools for 
database servers including Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2, Sybase and 
Informix. Headquartered in the United Kingdom NGS has offices in London, St. 
Andrews (UK), Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth (Australia) and Texas in the 
United States; NGSConsulting provide services to some of the largest and 
most demanding organizations around the globe.

http://www.ngssoftware.com/

Telephone +44 208 401 0070
Fax +44 208 401 0076

enquiries@ngssoftware.com