-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- - ---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE--- ======= ============ ====== ====== ======= ============== ======= ======= === === ==== ====== ====== === =========== ======= ======= === =========== === ======= === === === ==== === ===== === ======= ============== ===== === ===== ======= ============ ===== = ===== EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE OUTSIDE ADVISORY REDISTRIBUTION 17 July 1996 18:00 GMT Number: ERS-OAR-E01-1996:002.1 =============================================================================== The IBM-ERS Outside Advisory Redistribution is designed to provide customers of the IBM Emergency Response Service with access to the security advisories sent out by other computer security incident response teams, vendors, and other groups concerned about security. IBM makes no representations and assumes no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of the advisories themselves. IBM-ERS is forwarding the following information from the CERT Coordination Center. Contact information for CERT Coordination Center is included in the forwarded text below; please contact them if you have any questions or need further information. =============================================================================== ********************** FORWARDED INFORMATION STARTS HERE ********************** ============================================================================= CERT(sm) Advisory CA-96.13 July 9, 1996 Topic: Vulnerability in the dip program ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center has received several reports of exploitations of a vulnerability in the dip program on Linux systems. The dip program is shipped with most versions of the Linux system; and versions up to and including version 3.3.7n are vulnerable. An exploitation script for Linux running on X86-based hardware is publicly available. Although exploitation scripts for other architectures and operating systems have not yet been found, we believe that they could be easily developed. The CERT Coordination Center recommends that you disable dip and re-enable it only after you have installed a new version. Section III below describes how to do that. As we receive additional information relating to this advisory, we will place it in ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.13.README We encourage you to check our README files regularly for updates on advisories that relate to your site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Description dip is a freely available program that is included in most distributions of Linux. It is possible to build it for and use it on other UNIX systems. The dip program manages the connections needed for dial-up links such as SLIP and PPP. It can handle both incoming and outgoing connections. To gain access to resources it needs to establish these IP connections, the dip program must be installed as set-user-id root. A vulnerability in dip makes it possible to overflow an internal buffer whose value is under the control of the user of the dip program. If this buffer is overflowed with the appropriate data, a program such as a shell can be started. This program then runs with root permissions on the local machine. Exploitation scripts for dip have been found running on Linux systems for X86 hardware. Although exploitation scripts for other architectures and operating systems have not yet been found, we believe that they could be easily developed. II. Impact On a system that has dip installed as set-user-id root, anyone with access to an account on that system can gain root access. III. Solution Follow the steps in Section A to disable your currently installed version of dip. Then, if you need the functionality that dip provides, follow the steps given in Section B. A. Disable the presently installed version of dip. As root, chmod 0755 /usr/sbin/dip By default, dip is installed in the /usr/sbin directory. Note that it may be installed elsewhere on your system. B. Install a new version of dip. If you need the functionality that dip provides, retrieve and install the following version of the source code for dip, which fixes this vulnerability. dip is available from ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Network/serial/dip/dip337o-uri.tgz ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Network/serial/dip/dip337o-uri.tgz.sig MD5 (dip337o-uri.tgz) = 45fc2a9abbcb3892648933cadf7ba090 SHash (dip337o-uri.tgz) = 6e3848b9b5f9d5b308bbac104eaf858be4dc51dc --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center staff thanks Uri Blumenthal for his solution to the problem and Linux for their support in the development of this advisory. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact the CERT Coordination Center or your representative in the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). We strongly urge you to encrypt any sensitive information you send by email. The CERT Coordination Center can support a shared DES key and PGP. Contact the CERT staff for more information. Location of CERT PGP key ftp://info.cert.org/pub/CERT_PGP.key CERT Contact Information ------------------------ Email cert@cert.org Phone +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline) CERT personnel answer 8:30-5:00 p.m. EST (GMT-5)/EDT(GMT-4), and are on call for emergencies during other hours. Fax +1 412-268-6989 Postal address CERT Coordination Center Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890 USA CERT publications, information about FIRST representatives, and other security-related information are available for anonymous FTP from http://www.cert.org/ ftp://info.cert.org/pub/ CERT advisories and bulletins are also posted on the USENET newsgroup comp.security.announce To be added to our mailing list for CERT advisories and bulletins, send your email address to cert-advisory-request@cert.org Copyright 1996 Carnegie Mellon University This material may be reproduced and distributed without permission provided it is used for noncommercial purposes and the copyright statement is included. CERT is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University. This file: ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.13.dip_vul http://www.cert.org click on "CERT Advisories" *********************** FORWARDED INFORMATION ENDS HERE *********************** =============================================================================== IBM's Internet Emergency Response Service (IBM-ERS) is a subscription-based Internet security response service that includes computer security incident response and management, regular electronic verification of your Internet gateway(s), and security vulnerability alerts similar to this one that are tailored to your specific computing environment. By acting as an extension of your own internal security staff, IBM-ERS's team of Internet security experts helps you quickly detect and respond to attacks and exposures across your Internet connection(s). As a part of IBM's Business Recovery Services organization, the IBM Internet Emergency Response Service is a component of IBM's SecureWay(tm) line of security products and services. From hardware to software to consulting, SecureWay solutions can give you the assurance and expertise you need to protect your valuable business resources. To find out more about the IBM Internet Emergency Response Service, send an electronic mail message to ers-sales@vnet.ibm.com, or call 1-800-742-2493 (Prompt 4). IBM-ERS maintains a site on the World Wide Web at http://www.ers.ibm.com/. Visit the site for information about the service, copies of security alerts, team contact information, and other items. IBM-ERS uses Pretty Good Privacy* (PGP*) as the digital signature mechanism for security vulnerability alerts and other distributed information. The IBM-ERS PGP* public key is available from http://www.ers.ibm.com/team-info/pgpkey.html. "Pretty Good Privacy" and "PGP" are trademarks of Philip Zimmerman. IBM-ERS is a Member Team of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), a global organization established to foster cooperation and response coordination among computer security teams worldwide. The information in this document is provided as a service to customers of the IBM Emergency Response Service. Neither International Business Machines Corporation, Integrated Systems Solutions Corporation, 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 contained herein, or represents that its use would not infringe any 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 IBM or its subsidiaries. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of IBM or its subsidiaries, and may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. - ---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE---EXTERNAL RELEASE--- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.7.1 iQCVAwUBMe1Aj/WDLGpfj4rlAQH0OAQApGG+bzjkwzTEHT+KCtCzCI/bvN9SZ0EX gO83BOlzu06naHFHzat9UMq85u+nVb+tbna93oX4xdb7PzJfDDnH7zTtHKZN4wJK VdNrDg1OzxQgLshCMl4xXYcF9KTNcbLhFAvS2cFQkWlR2W3uUsnFgtH8Zp+AkJqx jMFPBjrbRVI= =Ai2o -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----