GLSA 200503-12: Hashcash: Format string vulnerability

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	Hashcash: Format string vulnerability
Date:	03/06/2005
Bugs:	#83541
ID:	200503-12

Synopsis

A format string vulnerability in the Hashcash utility could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Background

Hashcash is a utility for generating Hashcash tokens, a proof-of-work system to reduce the impact of spam.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
net-misc/hashcash	< 1.16-r1	>= 1.16-r1	All supported architectures

Description

Tavis Ormandy of the Gentoo Linux Security Audit Team identified a flaw in the Hashcash utility that an attacker could expose by specifying a malformed reply address.

Impact

Successful exploitation would permit an attacker to disrupt Hashcash users, and potentially execute arbitrary code.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All Hashcash users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-misc/hashcash-1.16-r1"

References

CVE-2005-0687

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200503-12.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.