Updated openssh packages that fix a potential security vulnerability are now available.
OpenSSH is OpenBSD's SSH (Secure SHell) protocol implementation. SSH replaces rlogin and rsh, and provides secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. X11 connections and arbitrary TCP/IP ports can also be forwarded over a secure channel. Public key authentication can be used for "passwordless" access to servers.
2. Relevant releases/architectures:
Red Hat Linux 7.3 - i386 Red Hat Linux 9 - i386 Fedora Core 1 - i386 Fedora Core 2 - i386
3. Problem description:
The scp protocol allows a server to instruct a client to write to arbitrary files outside of the current directory. This could potentially cause a security issue if a user uses scp to copy files from a malicious server. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-0175 to this issue.
These updated packages also correct the following bug: On systems where direct ssh access for the root user was disabled by configuration (setting "PermitRootLogin no"), attempts to guess the root password could be judged as sucessful or unsucessful by observing a delay.
Users of openssh should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to resolve these issues.
4. Solution:
Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied.
To update all RPMs for your particular architecture, run:
rpm -Fvh [filenames]
where [filenames] is a list of the RPMs you wish to upgrade. Only those RPMs which are currently installed will be updated. Those RPMs which are not installed but included in the list will not be updated. Note that you can also use wildcards (*.rpm) if your current directory *only* contains the desired RPMs.
Please note that this update is also available via yum and apt. Many people find this an easier way to apply updates. To use yum issue:
yum update
or to use apt:
apt-get update; apt-get upgrade
This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate RPMs being upgraded on your system. This assumes that you have yum or apt-get configured for obtaining Fedora Legacy content. Please visit http://www.fedoralegacy.org/docs for directions on how to configure yum and apt-get.