+---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | LinuxSecurity.com Weekly Newsletter | | November 25th, 2005 Volume 6, Number 48a | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Editors: Dave Wreski Benjamin D. Thomas dave@private ben@private Linux Advisory Watch is a comprehensive newsletter that outlines the security vulnerabilities that have been announced throughout the week. It includes pointers to updated packages and descriptions of each vulnerability. This week, advisories were released for phpgroupware, egroupware, fetchmail, gnump3d, common-lisp-controller, xmail, unzip, netpbm, mantis, fetchmail-ssl, sylpheed, ipmenu, horde3, zope, Smb4k, mtab, phpSysInfo, eix, php, drakxtools, binutils, and fuse. The distributors include Debian, Gentoo, Mandriva. ---- Earn an NSA recognized IA Masters Online The NSA has designated Norwich University a center of Academic Excellence in Information Security. Our program offers unparalleled Infosec management education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. Using interactive e-Learning technology, you can earn this esteemed degree, without disrupting your career or home life. http://www.msia.norwich.edu/linsec ---- Administration Notes Knowing that your servers are up-to-date is a good way to help ensure that you will have an uninterrupted holidays. What else can assure you that operations will run smoothly during time off? There are many pieces to the equation that are important. One of the most significant aspects is using servers that are properly configured and hardened. In addition, proper server administration procedures must be followed. While many intrusions are a result of vulnerable packages, a large number of them can also be attributed to improper software configuration and administration. This burden falls on the administrator. What can be done to reduce the risk of improper software configuration? The easiest way, is to look for a pre configured or specialized security distribution. Because I am a long time contributor to EnGarde Secure Linux, I am biased in this recommendation. However, I personally feel that using a distribution such as EnGarde will dramatically improve your organization's security stance with very little time, effort, and money invested. You'll find that with EnGarde, administration becomes easy. I have used it for years and now I find myself becoming lazy when it comes to using other systems. I find myself not wanting to do anything manually. Administration has become easy and now it is possible to concentrate on more intellectually stimulating projects. A specialized distribution is ideal for administrators with multiple systems to maintain in a critical environment. More information can be found out about EnGarde at: www.engardelinux.org If you've only installed Linux and Apache to host a personal Web site, or you are just looking to learn the inter workings of security and administration. I recommend finding a good Linux security book. An interesting book that I recently had the pleasure of reading is titled Linux Security Toolkit, by David Bandel. It covers host security, network security, firewalls & specialized security software, and Linux security auditing. It is easy to read and suitable for administrators wishing to concentrate on security. Like most books published today, it is not suitable for the seasoned administrator. Although the book is well written, it is not full of cutting edge knowledge. If you're looking to learn more about security, I recommend taking a look. It is available used through Amazon.com at a very reasonable price. ---------------------- Linux File & Directory Permissions Mistakes One common mistake Linux administrators make is having file and directory permissions that are far too liberal and allow access beyond that which is needed for proper system operations. A full explanation of unix file permissions is beyond the scope of this article, so I'll assume you are familiar with the usage of such tools as chmod, chown, and chgrp. If you'd like a refresher, one is available right here on linuxsecurity.com. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119415/49/ --- Buffer Overflow Basics A buffer overflow occurs when a program or process tries to store more data in a temporary data storage area than it was intended to hold. Since buffers are created to contain a finite amount of data, the extra information can overflow into adjacent buffers, corrupting or overwriting the valid data held in them. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119087/49/ --- Review: The Book of Postfix: State-of-the-Art Message Transport I was very impressed with "The Book of Postfix" by authors Ralf Hildebrandt and Pattrick Koetter and feel that it is an incredible Postfix reference. It gives a great overall view of the operation and management of Postfix in an extremely systematic and practical format. It flows in a logical manner, is easy to follow and the authors did a great job of explaining topics with attention paid to real world applications and how to avoid many of the associated pitfalls. I am happy to have this reference in my collection. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119027/49/ -------- --> Take advantage of the LinuxSecurity.com Quick Reference Card! --> http://www.linuxsecurity.com/docs/QuickRefCard.pdf +---------------------------------+ | Distribution: Debian | ----------------------------// +---------------------------------+ * Debian: New phpgroupware packages fix several vulnerabilities 17th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120833 * Debian: New egroupware packages fix several vulnerabilities 17th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120842 * Debian: New fetchmail packages fix potential information leak 18th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120845 * Debian: New gnump3d packages fix several vulnerabilities 19th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120855 * Debian: New common-lisp-controller packages fix arbitrary code injection 21st, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120859 * Debian: New xmail packages fix arbitrary code execution 21st, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120860 * Debian: New fetchmail packages fix potential information leak 21st, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120861 * Debian: New unzip packages fix unauthorised permissions modification 21st, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120862 * Debian: New netpbm packages fix arbitrary code execution 21st, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120865 * Debian: New mantis packages fix several vulnerabilities 22nd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120866 * Debian: New fetchmail-ssl packages fix potential information leak 22nd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120870 * Debian: New sylpheed packages fix arbitrary code execution 22nd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120873 * Debian: New ipmenu packages fix insecure temporary file creation 23rd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120877 * Debian: New sylpheed-claws packages fix arbitrary code execution 23rd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120878 * Debian: New horde3 packages fix cross-site scripting 23rd, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120879 * Debian: New zope2.7 packages fix arbitrary file inclusion 24th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120884 +---------------------------------+ | Distribution: Gentoo | ----------------------------// +---------------------------------+ * Gentoo: Smb4k Local unauthorized file access 18th, November, 2005 A vulnerability has been identified that allows unauthorized access to the contents of /etc/sudoers and /etc/super.tab files. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120849 * Gentoo: GNUMP3d Directory traversal and insecure temporary 21st, November, 2005 Two vulnerabilities have been identified in GNUMP3d allowing for limited directory traversal and insecure temporary file creation. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120864 * Gentoo: FUSE mtab corruption through fusermount 22nd, November, 2005 The fusermount utility from FUSE can be abused to corrupt the /etc/mtab file contents, potentially allowing a local attacker to set unauthorized mount options. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120872 * Gentoo: phpSysInfo Multiple vulnerabilities 22nd, November, 2005 phpSysInfo is vulnerable to multiple issues, including a local file inclusion leading to information disclosure and the potential execution of arbitrary code. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120874 * Gentoo: eix Insecure temporary file creation 22nd, November, 2005 eix has an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability, potentially allowing a local user to overwrite arbitrary files. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120875 * Gentoo: Horde Application Framework XSS vulnerability 22nd, November, 2005 The Horde Application Framework is vulnerable to a cross-site scripting vulnerability which could lead to the compromise of the victim's browser content. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120876 +---------------------------------+ | Distribution: Mandriva | ----------------------------// +---------------------------------+ * Mandriva: Updated php packages fix multiple vulnerabilities 17th, November, 2005 Updated package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120832 * Mandriva: Updated file package fixes segfault 18th, November, 2005 A bug in the file program would cause it to segfault on the x86_64 architecture on certain files. This update corrects the problem. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120852 * Mandriva: Updated drakxtools packages fix various bugs 18th, November, 2005 A number of bugs have been fixed in this new drakxtools package. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120853 * Mandriva: Updated gdk-pixbuf/gtk+2.0 packages fix vulnerability 18th, November, 2005 A heap overflow vulnerability in the GTK+ gdk-pixbuf XPM image rendering library could allow for arbitrary code execution. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120854 * Mandriva: Updated binutils packages fix vulnerabilities 23rd, November, 2005 Integer overflows in various applications in the binutils package may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code via a carefully crafted object file. The updated packages have been patched to help address these problems. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120883 * Mandriva: Updated fuse packages fix vulnerability 24th, November, 2005 Thomas Beige found that fusermount failed to securely handle special characters specified in mount points, which could allow a local attacker to corrupt the contents of /etc/mtab by mounting over a maliciously-named directory using fusermount. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/120891 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributed by: Guardian Digital, Inc. LinuxSecurity.com To unsubscribe email vuln-newsletter-request@private with "unsubscribe" in the subject of the message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _________________________________________ Earn your Master's degree in Information Security ONLINE www.msia.norwich.edu/csi Study IA management practices and the latest infosec issues. 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