GLSA-200512-01 : Perl: Format string errors can lead to code execution

medium Nessus Plugin ID 20280

Synopsis

The remote Gentoo host is missing one or more security-related patches.

Description

The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-200512-01 (Perl: Format string errors can lead to code execution)

Jack Louis discovered a new way to exploit format string errors in Perl that could lead to the execution of arbitrary code. This is perfomed by causing an integer wrap overflow in the efix variable inside the function Perl_sv_vcatpvfn. The proposed fix closes that specific exploitation vector to mitigate the risk of format string programming errors in Perl. This fix does not remove the need to fix such errors in Perl code.
Impact :

Perl applications making improper use of printf functions (or derived functions) using untrusted data may be vulnerable to the already-known forms of Perl format string exploits and also to the execution of arbitrary code.
Workaround :

Fix all misbehaving Perl applications so that they make proper use of the printf and derived Perl functions.

Solution

All Perl users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose dev-lang/perl

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 20280

File Name: gentoo_GLSA-200512-01.nasl

Version: 1.17

Type: local

Family: Gentoo Local Security Checks

Published: 12/8/2005

Updated: 1/6/2021

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.3

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 4.6

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:gentoo:linux:perl, cpe:/o:gentoo:linux

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/Gentoo/release, Host/Gentoo/qpkg-list

Patch Publication Date: 12/7/2005

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2005-3962

GLSA: 200512-01

Detections

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