GLSA 200805-03: Multiple X11 terminals: Local privilege escalation

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	Multiple X11 terminals: Local privilege escalation
Date:	05/07/2008
Bugs:	#216833, #217819, #219746, #219750, #219754, #219760, #219762
ID:	200805-03

Synopsis

A vulnerability was found in aterm, Eterm, Mrxvt, multi-aterm, RXVT, rxvt-unicode, and wterm, allowing for local privilege escalation.

Background

Aterm, Eterm, Mrxvt, multi-aterm, RXVT, rxvt-unicode, and wterm are X11 terminal emulators.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
x11-terms/aterm	< 1.0.1-r1	>= 1.0.1-r1	All supported architectures
x11-terms/eterm	< 0.9.4-r1	>= 0.9.4-r1	All supported architectures
x11-terms/mrxvt	< 0.5.3-r2	>= 0.5.3-r2	All supported architectures
x11-terms/multi-aterm	< 0.2.1-r1	>= 0.2.1-r1	All supported architectures
x11-terms/rxvt	< 2.7.10-r4	>= 2.7.10-r4	All supported architectures
x11-terms/rxvt-unicode	< 9.02-r1	>= 9.02-r1	All supported architectures
x11-terms/wterm	< 6.2.9-r3	>= 6.2.9-r3	All supported architectures

Description

Bernhard R. Link discovered that RXVT opens a terminal on :0 if the "-display" option is not specified and the DISPLAY environment variable is not set. Further research by the Gentoo Security Team has shown that aterm, Eterm, Mrxvt, multi-aterm, rxvt-unicode, and wterm are also affected.

Impact

A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to hijack X11 terminals of other users.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All aterm users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/aterm-1.0.1-r1"

All Eterm users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/eterm-0.9.4-r1"

All Mrxvt users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/mrxvt-0.5.3-r2"

All multi-aterm users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/multi-aterm-0.2.1-r1"

All RXVT users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/rxvt-2.7.10-r4"

All rxvt-unicode users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/rxvt-unicode-9.02-r1"

All wterm users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/wterm-6.2.9-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-200805-03.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.