bugtraq - NSFOCUS SA2006-03 : IBM AIX rm_mlcache_file Local Race Condition Vulnerability

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <200604241637.53622.security@nsfocus.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:37:05 +0800
From: NSFOCUS Security Team <security@...ocus.com>
To: bugtraq@...urityfocus.com, full-disclosure@...ts.netsys.com,
	vulnwatch@...nwatch.org
Subject: NSFOCUS SA2006-03 : IBM AIX rm_mlcache_file Local Race Condition Vulnerability

NSFOCUS Security Advisory (SA2006-03)

IBM AIX rm_mlcache_file Local Race Condition Vulnerability 

Release Date: 2006-04-24

CVE ID: CVE-2006-1247

http://www.nsfocus.com/english/homepage/research/0603.htm

Affected systems & software
===================
IBM AIX 5.1
IBM AIX 5.2
IBM AIX 5.3

Unaffected systems & software
===================

Summary
=========

NSFocus Security Team discovered a local race condition in IBM AIX rm_mlcache_file 
which could allow a local user to overwrite arbitrary file.

Description
============

rm_mlcache_file shipped with IBM AIX is used to delete some cached files. 
By default it is set with suid root bit. 

rm_mlcache_file contains a race condition when processing temporary files which 
allows a local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files. Attackers can launch 
attacks by running the program directly, or waiting till root user runs it.
Successful exploitation may result in data loss or DoS, specifically depending
on the overwritten file.

Workaround
=============

Remove the execution bit from rm_mlcache_file temporarily:

    # chmod 000 /usr/bin/rm_mlcache_file

Vendor Status
==============

The vendor has released the following APAR patches to fix the vulnerability:

      APAR number for AIX 5.1.0: IY82866 
      APAR number for AIX 5.2.0: IY82285
      APAR number for AIX 5.3.0: IY82357

AIX 5 APAR patch can be downloaded at: 
http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/support/unixservers/aixfixes.html

The temporary patch for the vulnerability can be downloaded at:
ftp://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/rm_mlcache_file_ifix.tar.Z

Additional Information
========================

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the
name CVE-2006-1247 to this issue. This is a candidate for inclusion in the 
CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems.
Candidates may change significantly before they become official CVE entries.

Acknowledgment
===============

Yang Jilong of NSFocus Security Team found the vulnerability.

DISCLAIMS
==========
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS RELEASED BY NSFOCUS "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND. NSFOCUS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY. IN NO EVENT SHALL NSFOCUS
BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL,CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF NSFOCUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
DISTRIBUTION OR REPRODUCTION OF THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED THAT THE
ADVISORY IS NOT MODIFIED IN ANY WAY.

Copyright 1999-2006 NSFOCUS. All Rights Reserved. Terms of use.

NSFOCUS Security Team <security@...ocus.com>
NSFOCUS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD
(http://www.nsfocus.com)

PGP Key: http://www.nsfocus.com/homepage/research/pgpkey.asc
Key fingerprint = F8F2 F5D1 EF74 E08C 02FE 1B90 D7BF 7877 C6A6 F6DA

Content of type "application/pgp-signature" skipped