Gentoo 2479 Published by

A GNU shtool, ocaml-mysql security update has been released for Gentoo Linux

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200506-08
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: Normal
Title: GNU shtool, ocaml-mysql: Insecure temporary file creation
Date: June 11, 2005
Bugs: #93782, #93784
ID: 200506-08

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Synopsis
=======

GNU shtool and ocaml-mysql are vulnerable to symlink attacks, potentially allowing a local user to overwrite arbitrary files.

Background
=========

GNU shtool is a compilation of small shell scripts into a single shell tool. The ocaml-mysql package includes the GNU shtool code.

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

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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1 dev-util/shtool < 2.0.1-r2 >= 2.0.1-r2
2 dev-ml/ocaml-mysql < 1.0.3-r1 >= 1.0.3-r1
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2 affected packages on all of their supported architectures.
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Description
==========

Eric Romang has discovered that GNU shtool insecurely creates temporary files with predictable filenames (CAN-2005-1751). On closer inspection, Gentoo Security discovered that the shtool temporary file, once created, was being reused insecurely (CAN-2005-1759).

Impact
=====

A local attacker could create symbolic links in the temporary files directory, pointing to a valid file somewhere on the filesystem. When a GNU shtool script is executed, this would result in the file being overwritten with the rights of the user running the script, which could
be the root user.

Workaround
=========

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
=========

All GNU shtool users should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-util/shtool-2.0.1-r2"

All ocaml-mysql users should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-ml/ocaml-mysql-1.0.3-r1"

References
=========

[ 1 ] CAN-2005-1751
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1751
[ 2 ] CAN-2005-1759
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2005-1759

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

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

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200506-08.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