The privilege-dropping implementation in the (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 does not perform the required setfsgid and setgroups system calls, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging unintended group permissions, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2010-3435.

The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-201206-31 (Linux-PAM: Multiple vulnerabilities)

    Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Linux-PAM. Please       review the CVE identifiers referenced below for details.
  Impact :

    A local attacker could use specially crafted files to cause a buffer       overflow, possibly resulting in privilege escalation or Denial of       Service. Furthermore, a local attacker could execute specially crafted       programs or symlink attacks, possibly resulting in data loss or       disclosure of sensitive information.
  Workaround :

    There is no known workaround at this time.

USN-1140-1 fixed vulnerabilities in PAM. A regression was found that caused cron to stop working with a 'Module is unknown' error. As a result, systems configured with automatic updates will not receive updates until cron is restarted, these updates are installed or the system is rebooted. This update fixes the problem.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Marcus Granado discovered that PAM incorrectly handled configuration files with non-ASCII usernames. A remote attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service, or possibly obtain login access with a different users username. This issue only affected Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.
(CVE-2009-0887)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth, pam_env and pam_mail modules incorrectly handled dropping privileges when performing operations. A local attacker could use this flaw to read certain arbitrary files, and access other sensitive information. (CVE-2010-3316, CVE-2010-3430, CVE-2010-3431, CVE-2010-3435)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_namespace module incorrectly cleaned the environment during execution of the namespace.init script. A local attacker could use this flaw to possibly gain privileges. (CVE-2010-3853)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth module incorrectly handled certain failures. A local attacker could use this flaw to delete certain unintended files. (CVE-2010-4706)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth module incorrectly verified certain file properties. A local attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4707).

Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.

Marcus Granado discovered that PAM incorrectly handled configuration files with non-ASCII usernames. A remote attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service, or possibly obtain login access with a different users username. This issue only affected Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.
(CVE-2009-0887)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth, pam_env and pam_mail modules incorrectly handled dropping privileges when performing operations. A local attacker could use this flaw to read certain arbitrary files, and access other sensitive information. (CVE-2010-3316, CVE-2010-3430, CVE-2010-3431, CVE-2010-3435)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_namespace module incorrectly cleaned the environment during execution of the namespace.init script.
A local attacker could use this flaw to possibly gain privileges.
(CVE-2010-3853)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth module incorrectly handled certain failures. A local attacker could use this flaw to delete certain unintended files. (CVE-2010-4706)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_xauth module incorrectly verified certain file properties. A local attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4707).

Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
59704	GLSA-201206-31 : Linux-PAM: Multiple vulnerabilities	Nessus	Gentoo Local Security Checks	high
55103	Ubuntu 8.04 LTS / 10.04 LTS / 10.10 / 11.04 : pam regression (USN-1140-2)	Nessus	Ubuntu Local Security Checks	medium
55102	Ubuntu 8.04 LTS / 10.04 LTS / 10.10 / 11.04 : pam vulnerabilities (USN-1140-1)	Nessus	Ubuntu Local Security Checks	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2010-3430

medium

Tenable Plugins

high

medium

medium