GLSA 200409-03: Python 2.2: Buffer overflow in getaddrinfo()

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	high
Title:	Python 2.2: Buffer overflow in getaddrinfo()
Date:	09/02/2004
Bugs:	#62440
ID:	200409-03

Synopsis

Python 2.2 has a vulnerability in DNS handling when IPV6 is disabled and a malformed IPV6 address is encountered by getaddrinfo().

Background

Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, cross-platform programming language.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
dev-lang/python	< 2.2.2	>= 2.2.2	All supported architectures

Description

If IPV6 is disabled in Python 2.2, getaddrinfo() is not able to handle IPV6 DNS requests properly and a buffer overflow occurs.

Impact

An attacker can execute arbitrary code as the user running python.

Workaround

Users with IPV6 enabled are not affected by this vulnerability.

Resolution

All Python 2.2 users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge sync

    # emerge -pv ">=dev-lang/python-2.2.2"
    # emerge ">=dev-lang/python-2.2.2"

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200409-03.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.