GLSA 200701-06: w3m: Format string vulnerability
| Severity: | normal |
| Title: | w3m: Format string vulnerability |
| Date: | 01/12/2007 |
| Bugs: | |
| ID: | 200701-06 |
Synopsis
w3m does not correctly handle format string specifiers in SSL certificates.Background
w3m is a multi-platform text-based web browser.
Affected packages
| Package | Vulnerable | Unaffected | Architecture(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| www-client/w3m | < 0.5.1-r4 | >= 0.5.1-r4 | All supported architectures |
Description
w3m in -dump or -backend mode does not correctly handle printf() format string specifiers in the Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 SSL certificate.
Impact
An attacker could entice a user to visit a malicious website that would load a specially crafted X.509 SSL certificate containing "%n" or other format string specifiers, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code with the rights of the user running w3m.
Workaround
There is no known workaround at this time.
Resolution
All w3m users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=www-client/w3m-0.5.1-r4"
References
Availability
This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website:
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.
License
Copyright 2010 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text belongs to its owner(s). The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.