RSI.0009.09-08-98.ALL.OMNIBACK |:::. |::::: |::::. |::::: |::::: |::::. .. :: .. .. :: .. .. .. :: |:::: |:::: |:::: :::::: |::::: |:::: |: |: :: |: |: |:: |: |: :: |: :: |::::: |: |::::: |::::: |::::: Repent Security Incorporated, RSI [ http://www.repsec.com ] *** RSI ALERT ADVISORY *** --- [CREDIT] -------------------------------------------------------------- 'Bermuda Brian': Research and development Mark Zielinski : Author of advisory --- [SUMMARY] ------------------------------------------------------------- Announced: August 18, 1998 Report code: RSI.0009.09-08-98.HP-UX.OMNIBACK Report title: Omniback Vulnerability: Several vulnerabilities have been discovered which can allow an attacker to execute remote commands, impersonate another user, and overwrite any file on the server. Vendor status: Hewlett Packard contacted on August 18, 1998 Patch status: Patches are being developed by Hewlett Packard Platforms: Any platform with the Omniback package installed Reference: http://www.repsec.com/advisories.html Impact: If exploited, users can execute commands and gain root access remotely, and overwrite any file on the system locally. Special Note: Although Omniback is not known to be shipped with any operating system, many platforms are supported by the Omniback software package according to Hewlett-Packard. Installation of Omniback on any system could potentially leave you vulnerable. --- [DETAILS] ------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: Three problems are covered in this advisory: The first issue allows an attacker to remotely execute commands on the server by sending arbitrary data with a ";" after commands such as "CELL" or "INFO". The second issue also allows remote execution of commands by impersonating a valid user and Omniback server. The third issue allows for any file on the system to be overwritten locally via a /tmp symlink problem. These problems are present in the 2.1, and 2.5 Omniback Cell servers, disk agents, and media agents. The Omniback protocol is vulnerable to spoofing attacks which introduces these vulnerabilities: Vulnerability #1: Omniback allows commands to be executed with root access since it requires full access to the local filesystem. By sending arbitrary data to the Omniback server containing commands such as "CELL;command" or "INFO;command", an attacker can execute commands as root. Vulnerability #2: Omniback also allows remote commands to be executed through a second process. Any user that can impersonate the Omniback Cell server can start a job on the remote system and potentially execute commands as root. Vulnerability #3: Omniback allows an arbitrary local user overwrite any file on the filesystem. By symlinking /tmp/util.tmp to the file you want to create/overwrite and sending the Omniback server an UNSECURE command, you can potentially create/overwrite that file. This software has also been ported to a number of other platforms which are currently untested, but may be subject to the same vulnerabilities: SGI IRIX 5.3 SNI Sinix 5.4.2 IBM AIX 3.2.5, 4.1 Hewlett Packard HP-UX 9.0, 10.0, 10.20, 11.0 Sun Microsystems SunOS 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 Novell Netware 3.11, 3.12, 4.01, 4.1 Microsoft Windows NT Server & Workstation 3.51, 4.0 Further platforms can be included via NFS and shared disks --- [FIX] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Solution: The following temporary solutions exist to help deal with the above issues, however each solution may not be best suited for your network or adequately deal with the problems. Adding access controls to 'inetd.sec' could potentially limit the scope of a network attack, but would not be considered a complete or failsafe solution. Blocking port 5555 at the external router of your network will defend against most Internet based attacks, but could potentially interfere with other applications that may use port 5555 such as 'personal-agent'. Current IANA port assignments include a note (in comments) that HP Omniback also uses this port, but does not specifically assign it to the Omniback service. This solution will not protect you from internal/Intranet attacks. The last solution is to disable Omniback until a patch is provided by your vendor. --- [PATCH] --------------------------------------------------------------- Solution: HP has informed us that patches are in process to address issues #1 and #3. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Repent Security Incorporated (RSI) 13610 N. Scottsdale Rd. Suite #10-326 Scottsdale, AZ 85254 E-Mail: advise@repsec.com FTP: ftp://ftp.repsec.com WWW: http://www.repsec.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQCNAzU6dqAAAAEEAOHt9a5vevjD8ZjsEmncEbFp2U7aeqvPTcF/8FJMilgOVp75 dshXvZixHsYU7flgCNzA7wLIQPWBQBrweLG6dx9gE9e5Ca6yAJxZg8wNsi06tZfP nvmvf6F/7xoWS5Ei4k3YKuzscxlyePNNKws6uUe2ZmwVoB+i3HHT44dOafMhAAUT tBpSZXBTZWMgPGFkdmlzZUByZXBzZWMuY29tPg== =ro8H -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Copyright September 1998 RepSec, Inc. The information in this document is provided as a service to customers of RepSec, Inc. Neither RepSec, Inc., nor any of it's employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process contained herein, or represents that its use would not infringe any privately owned rights. 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