RFP9905: Zeus webserver remote root compromise

From: Julian Midgley (julianat_private)
Date: Tue Oct 26 1999 - 05:47:14 PDT

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    Zeus Technology has uploaded new binaries to fix the root compromise bug
    in the Zeus Webserver reported by Rain Forest Puppy yesterday.
    
    The bug affects all versions of Zeus prior to 3.3.2.  It is recommended
    that customers upgrade as soon as possible.  Customers who are not making
    use of the search module are not affected, and need only upgrade if they
    plan to start using it in the future.
    
    Full details of how to upgrade to the new binaries are at:
    
    http://support.zeustechnology.com/news/exploit.html
    
    Customers upgrading from version 3.1.9 or earlier will need to follow the
    upgrade instructions at:
    
    http://support.zeustechnology.com/faq/entries/z33migrate.html
    
    It is worth noting also, that provided you had set the webserver to run as
    non-privileged user, the risk from the search module bug is relatively
    slight, as someone exploiting it under those circumstances would find it
    difficult to compromise root, provided you have chosen a secure password
    for access to the admin server. This should serve as reminder always to
    run your web process as a non-root user.
    
    To ensure that the Zeus admin server is as secure as possible, you should
    restrict access to the admin server port (9090 by default) to designated
    machines. You can do this with by setting access restrictions on the
    "Security Settings" configuration page for the admin server, and/or by
    configuring your firewall appropriately.
    
    You should also ensure (to prevent Crack-type attacks on your admin server
    password), that you choose a password for the admin server which is as
    secure as one you choose for root on your machine. (Ie, mixture of
    alphanumeric and punction characters, mixture of upper and lowercase, no
    dictionary words or parts thereof, etc.)
    
    
    --
    Julian Midgley
    Technical Support Manager               jmidgleyat_private
    Zeus Technology                         http://www.zeustechnology.com
    
    For technical support queries, email supportat_private, being
    sure to include your customer account number in the subject header.
    



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