-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii __________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ 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. 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A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained by sending email to docserver@first.org with an empty subject line and a message body containing the line: send first-contacts. 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, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. 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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 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMPP4UrnzJzdsy3QZAQFTaAP/aeln5vu3yZ7OXeXnYAmLEGo11CsZRipE cej8AE6R6q9jSbX9XnAMhTgLd6inrAtgNuML+YhdJnJU8mzSgSaBN7v3SalfNnJ2 90fxxlIKnV+APTFU/iPXZNCf4aPBzok2PnhLgaJLRh3OZHULiGMBa9u1Op8ZVd2/ INyMfZBg1x8= =EA0d -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----