GLSA 201408-08: file: Denial of Service

Severity:normal
Title:file: Denial of Service
Date:08/26/2014
Bugs: #505534
ID:201408-08

Synopsis

A vulnerability in file could result in Denial of Service.

Background

file is a utility that guesses a file format by scanning binary data for patterns.

Affected packages

Package Vulnerable Unaffected Architecture(s)
sys-apps/file < 5.15 >= 5.15 All supported architectures

Description

BEGIN regular expression in the awk script detector in magic/Magdir/commands uses multiple wildcards with unlimited repetitions.

Impact

A context-dependent attacker could entice a user to open a specially crafted file, possibly resulting in a Denial of Service condition.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All file users should upgrade to the latest version:

      # emerge --sync
      # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=sys-apps/file-5.15"
    

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201408-08.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!