GLSA 200809-01: yelp: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	yelp: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code
Date:	09/04/2008
Bugs:	#234079
ID:	200809-01

Synopsis

A vulnerability in yelp can lead to the execution of arbitrary code when opening a URI, for example through Firefox.

Background

yelp is the default help browser for GNOME.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
gnome-extra/yelp	< 2.22.1-r2	>= 2.22.1-r2	All supported architectures

Description

Aaron Grattafiori reported a format string vulnerability in the window_error() function in yelp-window.c.

Impact

A remote attacker can entice a user to open specially crafted "man:" or "ghelp:" URIs in yelp, or an application using yelp such as Firefox or Evolution, and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of that user.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All yelp users running GNOME 2.22 should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=gnome-extra/yelp-2.22.1-r2"

All yelp users running GNOME 2.20 should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=gnome-extra/yelp-2.20.0-r1"

References

CVE-2008-3533

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200809-01.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.