GLSA 200809-15: GNU ed: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	GNU ed: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code
Date:	09/23/2008
Bugs:	#236521
ID:	200809-15

Synopsis

A buffer overflow vulnerability in ed may allow for the remote execution of arbitrary code.

Background

GNU ed is a basic line editor. red is a restricted version of ed that does not allow shell command execution.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
sys-apps/ed	< 1.0	>= 1.0	All supported architectures

Description

Alfredo Ortega from Core Security Technologies reported a heap-based buffer overflow in the strip_escapes() function when processing overly long filenames.

Impact

A remote attacker could entice a user to process specially crafted commands with ed or red, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All GNU ed users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=sys-apps/ed-1.0"

References

CVE-2008-3916

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200809-15.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.