GLSA 200707-14: tcpdump: Integer overflow

Severity:high
Title:tcpdump: Integer overflow
Date:07/28/2007
Bugs: #184815
ID:200707-14

Synopsis

A vulnerability has been discovered in tcpdump, allowing for the execution of arbitrary code, possibly with root privileges.

Background

tcpdump is a tool for capturing and inspecting network traffic.

Affected packages

Package Vulnerable Unaffected Architecture(s)
net-analyzer/tcpdump < 3.9.5-r3 >= 3.9.5-r3 All supported architectures

Description

mu-b from Digital Labs discovered that the return value of a snprintf() call is not properly checked before being used. This could lead to an integer overflow.

Impact

A remote attacker could send specially crafted BGP packets on a network being monitored with tcpdump, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running tcpdump, which is usually root.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All tcpdump users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-analyzer/tcpdump-3.9.5-r3"

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200707-14.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.

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.

Thank you!