GLSA 200312-08: CVS: possible root compromise when using CVS pserver

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	high
Title:	CVS: possible root compromise when using CVS pserver
Date:	12/28/2003
Bugs:	#36142
ID:	200312-08

Synopsis

A possible root compromise exists for CVS pservers.

Background

CVS, which stands for Concurrent Versions System, is a client/server application which tracks changes to sets of files. It allows multiple users to work concurrently on files, and then merge their changes back into the main tree (which can be on a remote system). It also allows branching, or maintaining separate versions for files.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
dev-util/cvs	<= 1.11.10	>= 1.11.11	All supported architectures

Description

Quote from ccvs.cvshome.org/servlets/NewsItemView?newsID=88: "Stable CVS 1.11.11 has been released. Stable releases contain only bug fixes from previous versions of CVS. This release adds code to the CVS server to prevent it from continuing as root after a user login, as an extra failsafe against a compromise of the CVSROOT/passwd file. Previously, any user with the ability to write the CVSROOT/passwd file could execute arbitrary code as the root user on systems with CVS pserver access enabled. We recommend this upgrade for all CVS servers!"

Impact

A remote user could execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the root user.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All Gentoo Linux machines with cvs installed should be updated to use cvs-1.11.11 or higher.

    # emerge sync
    # emerge -pv '>=dev-util/cvs-1.11.11'
    # emerge '>=dev-util/cvs-1.11.11'
    # emerge clean

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200312-08.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 https://bugs.gentoo.org.