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A phpBB security update has been released for Gentoo Linux

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200503-02
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: Normal
Title: phpBB: Multiple vulnerabilities
Date: March 01, 2005
Bugs: #82955
ID: 200503-02

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Synopsis
=======

Several vulnerabilities allow remote attackers to gain phpBB administrator rights or expose and manipulate sensitive data.



Background
=========

phpBB is an Open Source bulletin board package.

Affected packages
================

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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
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1 www-apps/phpBB < 2.0.13 >= 2.0.13

Description
==========

It was discovered that phpBB contains a flaw in the session handling code and a path disclosure bug. AnthraX101 discovered that phpBB allows local users to read arbitrary files, if the "Enable remote avatars" and "Enable avatar uploading" options are set (CAN-2005-0259). He also found out that incorrect input validation in "usercp_avatar.php" and "usercp_register.php" makes phpBB vulnerable to directory traversal attacks, if the "Gallery avatars" setting is enabled (CAN-2005-0258).

Impact
=====

Remote attackers can exploit the session handling flaw to gain phpBB administrator rights. By providing a local and a remote location for an avatar and setting the "Upload Avatar from a URL:" field to point to the target file, a malicious local user can read arbitrary local files. By inserting "/../" sequences into the "avatarselect" parameter, a remote attacker can exploit the directory traversal vulnerability to delete arbitrary files. A flaw in the "viewtopic.php" script can be exploited to expose the full path of PHP scripts.

Workaround
=========

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
=========

All phpBB users should upgrade to the latest available version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=www-apps/phpBB-2.0.13"

References
=========

[ 1 ] CAN-2005-0258
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-0258
[ 2 ] CAN-2005-0259
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-0259
[ 3 ] phpBB announcement
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=267563

Availability
===========

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website:

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200503-02.xml

Concerns?
========

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at http://bugs.gentoo.org.

License
======

Copyright 2005 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text belongs to its owner(s).

The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0