Debian DSA-423-1 : linux-kernel-2.4.17-ia64 - several vulnerabilities

high Nessus Plugin ID 15260

Synopsis

The remote Debian host is missing a security-related update.

Description

The IA-64 maintainers fixed several security related bugs in the Linux kernel 2.4.17 used for the IA-64 architecture, mostly by backporting fixes from 2.4.18. The corrections are listed below with the identification from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project :

- CAN-2003-0001 :
Multiple ethernet network interface card (NIC) device drivers do not pad frames with null bytes, which allows remote attackers to obtain information from previous packets or kernel memory by using malformed packets, as demonstrated by Etherleak.

- CAN-2003-0018 :

Linux kernel 2.4.10 through 2.4.21-pre4 does not properly handle the O_DIRECT feature, which allows local attackers with write privileges to read portions of previously deleted files, or cause file system corruption.

- CAN-2003-0127 :

The kernel module loader in Linux kernel 2.2.x before 2.2.25, and 2.4.x before 2.4.21, allows local users to gain root privileges by using ptrace to attach to a child process which is spawned by the kernel.

- CAN-2003-0461 :

The virtual file /proc/tty/driver/serial in Linux 2.4.x reveals the exact number of characters used in serial links, which could allow local users to obtain potentially sensitive information such as the length of passwords.

- CAN-2003-0462 :

A race condition in the way env_start and env_end pointers are initialized in the execve system call and used in fs/proc/base.c on Linux 2.4 allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash).

- CAN-2003-0476 :

The execve system call in Linux 2.4.x records the file descriptor of the executable process in the file table of the calling process, which allows local users to gain read access to restricted file descriptors.

- CAN-2003-0501 :

The /proc filesystem in Linux allows local users to obtain sensitive information by opening various entries in /proc/self before executing a setuid program, which causes the program to fail to change the ownership and permissions of those entries.

- CAN-2003-0550 :

The STP protocol, as enabled in Linux 2.4.x, does not provide sufficient security by design, which allows attackers to modify the bridge topology.

- CAN-2003-0551 :

The STP protocol implementation in Linux 2.4.x does not properly verify certain lengths, which could allow attackers to cause a denial of service.

- CAN-2003-0552 :

Linux 2.4.x allows remote attackers to spoof the bridge Forwarding table via forged packets whose source addresses are the same as the target.

- CAN-2003-0961 :

An integer overflow in brk system call (do_brk function) for Linux kernel 2.4.22 and earlier allows local users to gain root privileges.

- CAN-2003-0985 :

The mremap system call (do_mremap) in Linux kernel 2.4 and 2.6 does not properly perform boundary checks, which allows local users to cause a denial of service and possibly gain privileges by causing a remapping of a virtual memory area (VMA) to create a zero length VMA.

Solution

For the stable distribution (woody) this problem has been fixed in version kernel-image-2.4.17-ia64 for the ia64 architecture. Other architectures are already or will be fixed separately.

See Also

http://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-423

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 15260

File Name: debian_DSA-423.nasl

Version: 1.29

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 9/29/2004

Updated: 1/4/2021

Supported Sensors: Agentless Assessment, Continuous Assessment, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: High

Score: 8.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.2

Temporal Score: 5.6

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:3.0, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:kernel-image-2.4.17-ia64

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/Debian/release, Host/Debian/dpkg-l

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 1/15/2004

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2003-0001, CVE-2003-0018, CVE-2003-0127, CVE-2003-0461, CVE-2003-0462, CVE-2003-0476, CVE-2003-0501, CVE-2003-0550, CVE-2003-0551, CVE-2003-0552, CVE-2003-0961, CVE-2003-0985

BID: 6535, 6763, 7112, 8002, 8042, 8233, 9138, 9356, 10330

DSA: 423