GLSA 200809-01 yelp: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200809-01
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: Normal
Title: yelp: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code
Date: September 04, 2008
Bugs: #234079
ID: 200809-01

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Synopsis
========

A vulnerability in yelp can lead to the execution of arbitrary code
when opening a URI, for example through Firefox.

Background
==========

yelp is the default help browser for GNOME.

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1 gnome-extra/yelp lt; 2.22.1-r2 gt;= 2.22.1-r2
*gt;= 2.20.0-r1

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

Aaron Grattafiori reported a format string vulnerability in the
window_error() function in yelp-window.c.

Impact
======

A remote attacker can entice a user to open specially crafted "man:" or
"ghelp:" URIs in yelp, or an application using yelp such as Firefox or
Evolution, and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of that user.

Workaround
==========

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
==========

All yelp users running GNOME 2.22 should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose "gt;=gnome-extra/yelp-2.22.1-r2"

All yelp users running GNOME 2.20 should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose "gt;=gnome-extra/yelp-2.20.0-r1"

References
==========

[ 1 ] CVE-2008-3533
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2008-3533

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

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

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200809-01.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 2008 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/2.5