Gentoo 2479 Published by

A Mailutils security update is available for Gentoo Linux

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200505-20
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: High
Title: Mailutils: Multiple vulnerabilities in imap4d and mail
Date: May 27, 2005
Bugs: #94053
ID: 200505-20

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Synopsis
=======

The imap4d server and the mail utility from GNU Mailutils contain multiple vulnerabilities, potentially allowing a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.



Background
=========

GNU Mailutils is a collection of mail-related utilities, including an IMAP4 server (imap4d) and a Mail User Agent (mail).

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

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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
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1 net-mail/mailutils < 0.6-r1 >= 0.6-r1

Description
==========

infamous41d discovered several vulnerabilities in GNU Mailutils. imap4d does not correctly implement formatted printing of command tags (CAN-2005-1523), fails to validate the range sequence of the "FETCH" command (CAN-2005-1522), and contains an integer overflow in the "fetch_io" routine (CAN-2005-1521). mail contains a buffer overflow in "header_get_field_name()" (CAN-2005-1520).

Impact
=====

A remote attacker can exploit the format string and integer overflow in imap4d to execute arbitrary code as the imap4d user, which is usually root. By sending a specially crafted email message, a remote attacker could exploit the buffer overflow in the "mail" utility to execute arbitrary code with the rights of the user running mail. Finally, a remote attacker can also trigger a Denial of Service by sending a
malicious FETCH command to an affected imap4d, causing excessive resource consumption.

Workaround
=========

There are no known workarounds at this time.

Resolution
=========

All GNU Mailutils users should upgrade to the latest available version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-mail/mailutils-0.6-r1"

References
=========

[ 1 ] CAN-2005-1520
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1520
[ 2 ] CAN-2005-1521
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1521
[ 3 ] CAN-2005-1522
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1522
[ 4 ] CAN-2005-1523
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1523
[ 5 ] iDEFENSE 05.25.05 advisories

http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?type=vulnerabilities&showYear
05

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

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

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200505-20.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