PHP 4.0.5 through 4.1.0 in safe mode does not properly cleanse the 5th parameter to the mail() function, which allows local users and possibly remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters.

The remote host is running PHP 4.0.5. There is a flaw in this version which allows local users to circumvent the safe mode and gain the UID of the HTTP process.

A fifth parameter was added to PHP's mail() function in 4.0.5 that is not properly sanitized when the server is running in safe mode. This vulnerability would allow local users and, possibly, remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands using shell metacharacters.

After upgrading to these packages, execute 'service httpd restart' as root in order to close the hole immediately.

PHP versions earlier than 4.1.0 contain a vulnerability that could allow arbitrary commands to be executed.

[updated 22 Aug 2002] The initial set of errata packages contained an incorrect set of dependencies. This meant that a number of packages would need to be installed before php that were not essential to the operation of php. Updated errata packages are included with this advisory that have corrected dependencies.

PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language commonly used with Apache.
PHP versions 4.0.5 through 4.1.0 in safe mode do not properly cleanse the 5th parameter to the mail() function. This vulnerability allows local users and possibly remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters.

Red Hat Linux Advanced Server version 2.1 shipped with PHP 4.0.6.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2001-1246 to this issue.

All users of PHP should upgrade to these errata packages containing PHP 4.1.2, which is not vulnerable to this issue.

Note :

This PHP errata enforces memory limits on the size of the PHP process to prevent a badly generated script from becoming a possible source for a denial of service attack. The default process size is 8Mb though you can adjust this as you deem necessary thought the php.ini directive memory_limit. For example, to change the process memory limit to 4MB, add the following :

memory_limit 4194304

Important Installation Note :

There are special instructions you should follow regarding your /etc/php.ini configuration file in the 'Solution' section below.

The remote host is running PHP 4.0.5.

There is a flaw in this version of PHP that allows local users to circumvent the safe mode and to gain the UID of the HTTP process.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
1483	PHP < 4.1.0 Safe Mode Mail Function Command Execution	Nessus Network Monitor	Web Servers	medium
13960	Mandrake Linux Security Advisory : php (MDKSA-2002:059)	Nessus	Mandriva Local Security Checks	high
12307	RHEL 2.1 : php (RHSA-2002:129)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	high
10701	PHP Safe Mode mail Function 5th Parameter Arbitrary Command Execution	Nessus	CGI abuses	medium
801103	PHP < 4.1.0 Safe Mode Mail Function Command Execution	Log Correlation Engine	Web Servers	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2001-1246

high

Tenable Plugins

medium

high

high

medium

medium