From agent99@sgi.com Mon Jun 10 16:52:39 2002 From: SGI Security Coordinator To: agent99@sgi.com Cc: bugtraq@securityfocus.com, vulnwatch@vulnwatch.org Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 10:43:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: IRIX talkd vulnerability -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- _____________________________________________________________________________ SGI Security Advisory Title: talkd vulnerability Number: 20020603-01-I Date: June 10, 2002 Reference: CVE-2000-1010 _____________________________________________________________________________ - ----------------------- - --- Issue Specifics --- - ----------------------- It's been reported that the /usr/etc/talkd daemon contains a format string vulnerability. By carefully constructing arguments to talkd, it is possible to exploit the system, either through DNS or a remote client. More details are available at the following URL: http://packetstorm.freezer-burn.org/advisories/misc/talkd.format.txt SGI has investigated the issue and recommends the following steps for neutralizing the exposure. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that these measures be implemented on ALL vulnerable SGI systems. These issues have been corrected in the 6.5.10 and later releases of IRIX. - -------------- - --- Impact --- - -------------- The /usr/etc/talkd daemon is installed by default on IRIX 6.5 systems as part of eoe.sw.base. To determine the version of IRIX you are running, execute the following command: # uname -R That will return a result similar to the following: # 6.5 6.5.15f The first number ("6.5") is the release name, the second ("6.5.15f" in this case) is the extended release name. The extended release name is the "version" we refer to throughout this document. To see if talkd is installed, execute the following command: # versions long | grep talkd f 48692 37 eoe.sw.base usr/etc/talkd If the command returns a line similar to the above, then talkd is installed, and depending on the level of IRIX you are running (see below), the system may be vulnerable to this exploit. No local account is required, this vulnerability may be exploited by a remote user. This vulnerability was assigned the following CVE: http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2000-1010 - ---------------------------- - --- Temporary Workaround --- - ---------------------------- SGI understands that there are times when upgrading the operating system or installing patches are inconvenient or not possible. In those instances, we recommend the following workaround. Please note that while this workaround is in place, the services of talkd will no longer be available. Disable talkd by editing the /etc/inetd.conf file and commenting out the entry for talkd. When talkd is enabled, the line looks like this: $ grep talkd /etc/inetd.conf ntalk dgram udp wait root /usr/etc/talkd talkd Kill any existing talkd processes, then edit /etc/inetd.conf with your preferred text editor and put a "#" as the first character of that line, save the file, and issue a hangup signal to inetd to cause it to reread /etc/inetd.conf: # killall talkd # vi /etc/inetd.conf Change this: ntalk dgram udp wait root /usr/etc/talkd talkd To this: #ntalk dgram udp wait root /usr/etc/talkd talkd # killall -HUP inetd It is not necessary to reboot the system after making this change. - ---------------- - --- Solution --- - ---------------- SGI has not provided patches for this vulnerability. Our recommendation is to upgrade to IRIX 6.5.10 or a later version of IRIX (later versions are preferred). OS Version Vulnerable? Patch # Other Actions ---------- ----------- ------- ------------- IRIX 3.x unknown Note 1 IRIX 4.x unknown Note 1 IRIX 5.x unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.0.x unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.1 unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.2 unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.3 unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.4 unknown Note 1 IRIX 6.5 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.1 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.2 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.3 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.4 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.5 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.6 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.7 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.8 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.9 yes Notes 2 & 3 IRIX 6.5.10 no IRIX 6.5.11 no IRIX 6.5.12 no IRIX 6.5.13 no IRIX 6.5.14 no IRIX 6.5.15 no IRIX 6.5.16 no NOTES 1) This version of the IRIX operating has been retired. Upgrade to an actively supported IRIX operating system. See http://support.sgi.com/irix/news/index.html#policy for more information. 2) If you have not received an IRIX 6.5.X CD for IRIX 6.5, contact your SGI Support Provider or URL: http://support.sgi.com/irix/swupdates/ 3) Upgrade to IRIX 6.5.10 or later. - ------------------------ - --- Acknowledgments ---- - ------------------------ SGI wishes to thank GOBBLES and the users of the Internet Community at large for their assistance in this matter. - ------------- - --- Links --- - ------------- SGI Security Advisories can be found at: http://www.sgi.com/support/security/ and ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/ SGI Security Patches can be found at: http://www.sgi.com/support/security/ and ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/patches/ SGI patches for IRIX can be found at the following patch servers: http://support.sgi.com/irix/ and ftp://patches.sgi.com/ SGI freeware updates for IRIX can be found at: http://freeware.sgi.com/ SGI fixes for SGI open sourced code can be found on: http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ SGI patches and RPMs for Linux can be found at: http://support.sgi.com/linux/ or http://oss.sgi.com/projects/sgilinux-combined/download/security-fixes/ SGI patches for Windows NT or 2000 can be found at: http://support.sgi.com/nt/ IRIX 5.2-6.4 Recommended/Required Patch Sets can be found at: http://support.sgi.com/irix/ and ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/patchset/ IRIX 6.5 Maintenance Release Streams can be found at: http://support.sgi.com/colls/patches/tools/relstream/index.html IRIX 6.5 Software Update CDs can be obtained from: http://support.sgi.com/irix/swupdates/ The primary SGI anonymous FTP site for security advisories and patches is patches.sgi.com (216.32.174.211). Security advisories and patches are located under the URL ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/ For security and patch management reasons, ftp.sgi.com (mirrors patches.sgi.com security FTP repository) lags behind and does not do a real-time update. - ----------------------------------------- - --- SGI Security Information/Contacts --- - ----------------------------------------- If there are questions about this document, email can be sent to security-info@sgi.com. ------oOo------ SGI provides security information and patches for use by the entire SGI community. This information is freely available to any person needing the information and is available via anonymous FTP and the Web. The primary SGI anonymous FTP site for security advisories and patches is patches.sgi.com (216.32.174.211). Security advisories and patches are located under the URL ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/ The SGI Security Headquarters Web page is accessible at the URL: http://www.sgi.com/support/security/ For issues with the patches on the FTP sites, email can be sent to security-info@sgi.com. For assistance obtaining or working with security patches, please contact your SGI support provider. ------oOo------ SGI provides a free security mailing list service called wiretap and encourages interested parties to self-subscribe to receive (via email) all SGI Security Advisories when they are released. Subscribing to the mailing list can be done via the Web (http://www.sgi.com/support/security/wiretap.html) or by sending email to SGI as outlined below. % mail wiretap-request@sgi.com subscribe wiretap end ^d In the example above, is the email address that you wish the mailing list information sent to. The word end must be on a separate line to indicate the end of the body of the message. The control-d (^d) is used to indicate to the mail program that you are finished composing the mail message. ------oOo------ SGI provides a comprehensive customer World Wide Web site. This site is located at http://www.sgi.com/support/security/ . ------oOo------ If there are general security questions on SGI systems, email can be sent to security-info@sgi.com. For reporting *NEW* SGI security issues, email can be sent to security-alert@sgi.com or contact your SGI support provider. A support contract is not required for submitting a security report. ______________________________________________________________________________ This information is provided freely to all interested parties and may be redistributed provided that it is not altered in any way, SGI is appropriately credited and the document retains and includes its valid PGP signature. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBPQTi8bQ4cFApAP75AQFxuwP+ODm+atLB8MNKbjAXT09wc7skgZhi+ZdO JSnafo29YPRCpv5ttU5a6g6QFIKsBJ6ufldtP64caoL1Ym83yI/P0cYjpb8dg0/Y Qm/RpdVPB3atfcVU1ctvfoUWrqngqm6yp5pgNLeB0JE2zm/85y2gBi9tWLWd4WCL GptstilFsAw= =L45e -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----