************************************************************************** Security Bulletin 9122 DISA Defense Communications System 23 October 1991 Published by: DDN Security Coordination Center (SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL) 1-(800) 365-3642 DEFENSE DATA NETWORK SECURITY BULLETIN The DDN SECURITY BULLETIN is distributed by the DDN SCC (Security Coordination Center) under DISA contract as a means of communicating information on network and host security exposures, fixes, & concerns to security & management personnel at DDN facilities. Back issues may be obtained via FTP (or Kermit) from NIC.DDN.MIL [192.112.36.5] using login="anonymous" and password="guest". The bulletin pathname is SCC:DDN-SECURITY-yynn (where "yy" is the year the bulletin is issued and "nn" is a bulletin number, e.g. SCC:DDN-SECURITY-9122). ************************************************************************** + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + ! ! ! The following important advisory was issued by the Computer ! ! Emergency Response Team (CERT) and is being relayed unedited ! ! via the Defense Information Systems Agency's Security ! ! Coordination Center distribution system as a means of ! ! providing DDN subscribers with useful security information. ! ! ! + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + =========================================================================== CA-91:20 CERT Advisory October 22, 1991 /usr/ucb/rdist Vulnerability --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center (CERT/CC) has received information concerning a vulnerability in /usr/ucb/rdist (the location of rdist may vary depending on the operating system). This vulnerability is present in possibly all versions of rdist. Vendors responding with patches are listed below. Additionally, some vendors who do not include rdist in their operating systems are identified. Operating systems from vendors not listed in either of the two categories below will probably be affected and the CERT/CC has proposed a workaround for those systems. VENDORS THAT DO NOT SHIP rdist (Note: Even though these vendors do not ship rdist, it may have been added later (for example, by the system administrator). It is also possible that vendors porting one of these operating systems may have added rdist. In both cases corrective action must be taken.) Amdahl AT&T System V Data General DG/UX for AViiON Systems VENDORS PROVIDING PATCHES Cray Research, Inc. UNICOS 6.0/6.E/6.1 Field Alert #132 SPR 47600 For further information contact the Support Center at 1-800-950-CRAY or 612-683-5600 or e-mail support@crayamid.cray.com. NeXT Computer, Inc. NeXTstep Release 2.x A new version of rdist may be obtained from your authorized NeXT Support Center. If you are an authorized support center, please contact NeXT through your normal channels. NeXT also plans to make this new version of rdist available on the public NeXT FTP archives. Silicon Graphics IRIX 3.3.x/4.0 (fixed in 4.0.1) Patches may be obtained via anonymous ftp from sgi.com in the sgi/rdist directory. Sun Microsystems, Inc. SunOS 4.0.3/4.1/4.1.1 Patch ID 100383-02 Patches may be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp.uu.net or from local Sun Answer Centers worldwide. The CERT/CC is hopeful that other patches will be forthcoming. We will be maintaining a status file, rdist-patch-status, on the cert.sei.cmu.edu system. We will add patch availability information to this file as it becomes known. The file is available via anonymous ftp to cert.sei.cmu.edu and is found in pub/cert_advisories/rdist-patch-status. All trademarks are the property of their respective holders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Description A security vulnerability exists in /usr/ucb/rdist that can be used to gain unauthorized privileges. Under some circumstances /usr/ucb/rdist can be used to create setuid root programs. II. Impact Any user logged into the system can gain root access. III. Solution A. If available, install the appropriate patch provided by your operating system vendor. B. If no patch is available, restrict the use of /usr/ucb/rdist by changing the permissions on the file. # chmod 711 /usr/ucb/rdist --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT/CC wishes to thank Casper Dik of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for bringing this vulnerability to our attention. We would also like to thank the vendors who have responded to this problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact CERT/CC via telephone or e-mail. Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center (CERT/CC) Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 Internet E-mail: cert@cert.sei.cmu.edu Telephone: 412-268-7090 24-hour hotline: CERT/CC personnel answer 7:30a.m.-6:00p.m. EST(GMT-5)/EDT(GMT-4), on call for emergencies during other hours. Past advisories and other computer security related information are available for anonymous ftp from the cert.sei.cmu.edu (192.88.209.5) system.