crontab in Vixie cron 4.1, when running with the -e option, allows local users to read the cron files of other users by changing the file being edited to a symlink. NOTE: there is insufficient information to know whether this is a duplicate of CVE-2001-0235.

An updated vixie-cron package that fixes various bugs and a security issue is now available.

This update has been rated as having low security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The vixie-cron package contains the Vixie version of cron. Cron is a standard UNIX daemon that runs specified programs at scheduled times.

A bug was found in the way vixie-cron installs new crontab files. It is possible for a local attacker to execute the crontab command in such a way that they can view the contents of another user's crontab file. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project assigned the name CVE-2005-1038 to this issue.

Additionally, this update addresses the following issues :

o Fixed improper limits on filename and command line lengths o Improved PAM access control conforming to EAL certification requirements o Improved reliability when running in a chroot environment o Mail recipient name checking disabled by default, can be re-enabled o Added '-p' 'permit all crontabs' option to disable crontab mode checking

All users of vixie-cron should upgrade to this updated package, which contains backported patches and is not vulnerable to these issues.

By setting hard links to /etc/crontab users were able to prevent cron from running scheduled jobs. (CVE-2007-1856)

A re-emerged symlink bug allowed users to edit the crontab of other users. (CVE-2005-1038)

This is a reissue of the SLES10 update after Service Pack 1, since Service Pack 1 merge lost some of the fixes in the cron package.

By setting hard links to /etc/crontab users were able to prevent cron from running scheduled jobs. (CVE-2007-1856)

A re-emerged symlink bug allowed users to edit the crontab of other users. (CVE-2005-1038)

By setting hard links to /etc/crontab users were able to prevent cron from running scheduled jobs (CVE-2007-1856).

A re-emerged symlink bug allowed users to edit the crontab of other users (CVE-2005-1038).

An updated vixie-cron package that fixes a bug and security issue is now available.

This update has been rated as having low security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The vixie-cron package contains the Vixie version of cron. Cron is a standard UNIX daemon that runs specified programs at scheduled times.

A bug was found in the way vixie-cron installs new crontab files. It is possible for a local attacker to execute the crontab command in such a way that they can view the contents of another user's crontab file. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project assigned the name CVE-2005-1038 to this issue.

This update also fixes an issue where cron jobs could start before their scheduled time.

All users of vixie-cron should upgrade to this updated package, which contains backported patches and is not vulnerable to these issues.

The remote Redhat Enterprise Linux 4 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RHSA-2005:361 advisory.

  - security flaw (CVE-2005-1038)

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
67026	CentOS 4 : vixie-cron (CESA-2005:361)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	low
29408	SuSE 10 Security Update : cron (ZYPP Patch Number 3831)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	low
29407	SuSE 10 Security Update : cron (ZYPP Patch Number 3093)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	low
27190	openSUSE 10 Security Update : cron (cron-3092)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	low
21880	CentOS 3 : vixie-cron (CESA-2006:0117)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	low
21088	RHEL 3 : vixie-cron (RHSA-2006:0117)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	low
19987	RHEL 4 : vixie-cron (RHSA-2005:361)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2005-1038

medium

Tenable Plugins

low

low

low

low

low

low

medium