Re: ncurses 4.1 security bug

From: matthew green (mrgat_private)
Date: Fri Jul 10 1998 - 02:35:50 PDT

  • Next message: Lamont Granquist: "Re: port 0 scanning"

       > > 1.  The libraries will use message catalogs and may open them before
       > >     you do
       >
       > In NetBSD, the message catalogs we use don't work that way, so I
       > suppose I'm not familiar with this issue.
    
       Does libc load message databases of your choice - like say /dev/tape ? The
       problems are those of dropping privliedges early enough. As to the bug list
       thats real apps that need fixing - and should be fixed regardless of whether
       people bandaid ncurses.
    
    
    how do you fix this?  how does a _library_ know this?  openbsd has defined an
    issetugid() syscall (or something) that libraries could use to ignore the
    things like $TAPE and $TERMCAP, etc., but that isn't correct.  how does it
    know what the real userid _really_ is, to perform the necessary checks on
    whether a file will be used or not -- or do you simple say that priviledged
    programs don't get this functionality?
    
    
    i also don't see how the linux setfsuid() really helps here, either.
    
    
    i've had fixing this in problem in my TODO liist for over 2 years but
    without a total solution i've left it as is for now.  these are the
    variables listed that NetBSD uses that i've determined are affected:
    
            - TZ
            - TERMCAP
            - HOSTALIASES
    



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