talkd Buffer Overrun Vulnerability

CIAC INFORMATION BULLETIN

H-22a: talkd Buffer Overrun Vulnerability

(Update to talkd in Bulletin H-22)

May 6, 1997 18:00 GMT
PROBLEM:       A vulnerability has been identified in the talkd communication 
               program. 
PLATFORM:      Hewlett-Packard 
DAMAGE:        Local users may gain root privileges. 
SOLUTION:      Apply patches as indicated below. 

VULNERABILITY Exploit details involving this vulnerability have been made ASSESSMENT: publicly available.
[ Start Hewlett-Packard Advisory ] Document ID: HPSBUX9704-061 Date Loaded: 970501 Title: Security Vulnerability in talkd for HP-UX 10.X only ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEWLETT-PACKARD SECURITY BULLETIN: #00061, 30 April 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in the following Security Bulletin should be acted upon as soon as possible. Hewlett Packard will not be liable for any consequences to any customer resulting from customer's failure to fully implement instructions in this Security Bulletin as soon as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROBLEM: Security Vulnerability in talkd PLATFORM: HP 9000 Series 700/800s running only HP-UX 10.X releases. DAMAGE: Vulnerabilities exist allowing network users to gain root privileges. SOLUTION: Apply patch: PHNE_10042 for all platforms with HP-UX releases 10.0X/10.10 PHNE_10043 for all platforms with HP-UX release 10.20 AVAILABILITY: All patches are available now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. A. Background As referenced in CERT(sm) Advisory CA-97.04 on January 27, 1997 a vulnerability in the talkd executable has been discovered. The program talkd started shipping in HP-UX 10.X releases. B. Fixing the problem The vulnerability can be eliminated from HP-UX release 10.X by applying the appropriate patch. C. Recommended solution 1. Determine which patch is appropriate for your operating system. 2. Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX patches are available via email and the World Wide Web To obtain a copy of the Hewlett-Packard SupportLine email service user's guide, send the following in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE to support@us.external.hp.com (no Subject is required): send guide The users guide explains the HP-UX patch downloading process via email and other services available. World Wide Web service for downloading of patches is available via our URL: (http://us.external.hp.com) 3. Apply the patch to your HP-UX system. 4. Examine /var/adm/sw/swinstall.log, for any relevant WARNING's or ERROR's. D. Impact of the patch The patches for HP-UX release 10.X provide enhancements to the talkd executable to avoid this vulnerability. E. To subscribe to automatically receive future NEW HP Security Bulletins from the HP Electronic Support Center via electronic mail, do the following: User your browser to get to the HP Electronic Support Center page at: http://us-support.external.hp.com (for US, Canada, Asia-Pacific, & Latin-America) http://europe-support.external.hp.com (for Europe) Click on the Technical Knowledge Database, register as a user (remember to save the User ID assigned to you, and your password), and it will connect to a HP Search Technical Knowledge DB page. Near the bottom is a hyperlink to our Security Bulletin archive. Once in the archive there is another link to our current security patch matrix. Updated daily, this matrix is categorized by platform/OS release, and by bulletin topic. F. To report new security vulnerabilities, send email to security-alert@hp.com Please encrypt any exploit information using the security-alert PGP key, available from your local key server, or by sending a message with a -subject- (not body) of 'get key' (no quotes) to security-alert@hp.com. Permission is granted for copying and circulating this Bulletin to Hewlett-Packard (HP) customers (or the Internet community) for the purpose of alerting them to problems, if and only if, the Bulletin is not edited or changed in any way, is attributed to HP, and provided such reproduction and/or distribution is performed for non-commercial purposes. Any other use of this information is prohibited. HP is not liable for any misuse of this information by any third party. [ End Hewlett-Packard Advisory ]

CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Hewlett-Packard for the information contained in this bulletin.

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