GLSA 200410-08: ncompress: Buffer overflow

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	ncompress: Buffer overflow
Date:	10/09/2004
Bugs:	#66251
ID:	200410-08

Synopsis

compress and uncompress, which could be used by daemon programs, contain a buffer overflow that could lead to remote execution of arbitrary code with the rights of the daemon process.

Background

ncompress is a utility handling compression and decompression of Lempel-Ziv archives, compatible with the original *nix compress and uncompress utilities (.Z extensions).

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
app-arch/ncompress	<= 4.2.4	>= 4.2.4-r1	All supported architectures

Description

compress and uncompress do not properly check bounds on command line options, including the filename. Large parameters would trigger a buffer overflow.

Impact

By supplying a carefully crafted filename or other option, an attacker could execute arbitrary code on the system. A local attacker could only execute code with his own rights, but since compress and uncompress are called by various daemon programs, this might also allow a remote attacker to execute code with the rights of the daemon making use of ncompress.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All ncompress users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge sync
    
    # emerge -pv ">=app-arch/ncompress-4.2.4-r1"
    # emerge ">=app-arch/ncompress-4.2.4-r1"

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200410-08.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.