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Category:   OS (Linux)  >   Linux Kernel Vendors:   kernel.org
(Slackware Issues Fix) Linux 2.4 Kernel do_brk() Input Validation Flaw Lets Local Users Grab Root Privileges
SecurityTracker Alert ID:  1008360
SecurityTracker URL:  http://securitytracker.com/id/1008360
CVE Reference:   CAN-2003-0961   (Links to External Site)
Updated:  Dec 3 2003
Original Entry Date:  Dec 2 2003
Impact:   Execution of arbitrary code via local system, Root access via local system
Fix Available:  Yes  Vendor Confirmed:  Yes  
Version(s): Slackware 9.1 and -current
Description:   An input validation vulnerability was reported in the Linux 2.4 kernel. A local user can gain root level privileges.

It is reported that the do_brk() function does not perform proper bounds checking. A local user can run a userland application to cause the kernel to grant the local user access to the full kernel address space. The userland application can create an arbitrary and large virtual memory area, exceeding user accessible memory limits (TASK_SIZE).

Red Hat reports that an exploit for this flaw has been found in the wild.

Impact:   A local user can gain root privileges.
Solution:   Slackware has issued a fix.

Updated packages for Slackware 9.1:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-ide-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-modules-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-source-2.4.23-noarch-2.tgz

Updated packages for Slackware -current:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/a/kernel-ide-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/a/kernel-modules-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/d/kernel-headers-2.4.23-i386-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/k/kernel-source-2.4.23-noarch-2.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/ap/alsa-utils-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-driver-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-lib-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-oss-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/kernel-modules-xfs/alsa-driver-xfs-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/kernel-modules-xfs/kernel-modules-xfs-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz

The MD5 signatures are available via FTP.

Slackware 9.1 packages:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/CHECKSUMS.md5
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/CHECKSUMS.md5.asc

Slackware -current packages:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/CHECKSUMS.md5
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/CHECKSUMS.md5.asc

See the Source Message for installation instructions.

Vendor URL:  www.kernel.org/ (Links to External Site)
Cause:   Input validation error
Underlying OS:  

Message History:   This archive entry is a follow-up to the message listed below.
Dec 1 2003 Linux 2.4 Kernel do_brk() Input Validation Flaw Lets Local Users Grab Root Privileges



 Source Message Contents

Date:  Tue, 2 Dec 2003 10:05:30 -0800 (PST)
Subject:  [slackware-security] Kernel security update (SSA:2003-336-01)



-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

[slackware-security]  Kernel security update  (SSA:2003-336-01)

New kernels are available for Slackware 9.1 and -current.  These
have been upgraded to Linux kernel version 2.4.23, which fixes a
bug in the kernel's do_brk() function that could be exploited to
gain root privileges.  These updated kernels and modules should be
installed by any sites running a 2.4 kernel earlier than 2.4.23.
Linux 2.0 and 2.2 kernels are not vulnerable.

More details about the Apache issue may be found in the Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database:

  http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2003-0961


Here are the details from the Slackware 9.1 ChangeLog:
+--------------------------+
Mon Dec  1 21:36:30 PST 2003
patches/kernels/:  Upgraded to Linux 2.4.23.  This fixes a bug in the
  kernel's do_brk() function which a local user could exploit to gain
  root privileges.  For more details, see:
    http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2003-0961
  Sites should upgrade to the 2.4.23 kernel and kernel modules.  After
  installing the new kernel, be sure to run 'lilo'.
  (* Security fix *)
patches/packages/alsa-driver-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded to
  alsa-driver-0.9.8, compiled against linux-2.4.23.
patches/packages/alsa-lib-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded to alsa-lib-0.9.8.
patches/packages/alsa-oss-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded to alsa-oss-0.9.8.
patches/packages/alsa-utils-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded to
  alsa-utils-0.9.8.
patches/packages/kernel-ide-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded bare.i kernel
  package to Linux 2.4.23.
patches/packages/kernel-modules-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz:  Upgraded to Linux
  2.4.23 kernel modules.
patches/packages/kernel-source-2.4.23-noarch-2.tgz:  Upgraded to Linux
  2.4.23 kernel source, with XFS and Speakup patches included (but not
  pre-applied).
patches/packages/kernel-modules-xfs/alsa-driver-xfs-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz:
  Upgraded to alsa-driver-0.9.8, compiled against linux-2.4.23-xfs.
patches/packages/kernel-modules-xfs/kernel-modules-xfs-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz:
  Upgraded to Linux 2.4.23 kernel modules for the xfs.s (XFS patched)
  kernel.
+--------------------------+


WHERE TO FIND THE NEW PACKAGES:
+-----------------------------+

Updated packages for Slackware 9.1:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-ide-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-modules-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-source-2.4.23-noarch-2.tgz

An alternate kernel may be installed.  Those are found in this directory:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/kernels/

ALSA has also been updated to 0.9.8 and compiled for 2.4.23.  These
packages will also be required to use the ALSA sound system:

ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/alsa-driver-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/alsa-lib-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/alsa-oss-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/alsa-utils-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz

The XFS patched kernel requires different kernel modules.  If you use
the XFS filesystem and XFS patched kernel (xfs.s), these packages
contain kernel modules compiled against 2.4.23-xfs:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-modules-xfs/alsa-driver-xfs-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/packages/kernel-modules-xfs/kernel-modules-xfs-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz


Updated packages for Slackware -current:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/a/kernel-ide-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/a/kernel-modules-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/d/kernel-headers-2.4.23-i386-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/k/kernel-source-2.4.23-noarch-2.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/ap/alsa-utils-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-driver-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-lib-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/l/alsa-oss-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/kernel-modules-xfs/alsa-driver-xfs-0.9.8-i486-1.tgz
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/kernel-modules-xfs/kernel-modules-xfs-2.4.23-i486-1.tgz


MD5 SIGNATURES:
+-------------+

MD5 signatures may be downloaded from our FTP server:

Slackware 9.1 packages:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/CHECKSUMS.md5

To verify authenticity, this file has been signed with the Slackware
GPG key (use 'gpg --verify'):

ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.1/patches/CHECKSUMS.md5.asc


Slackware -current packages:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/CHECKSUMS.md5
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/CHECKSUMS.md5.asc


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
+------------------------+

Use upgradepkg to install the new kernel, kernel-modules, and alsa packages.
After installing the kernel-ide package you will need to run lilo ('lilo' at
a command prompt) or create a new system boot disk ('makebootdisk'), and
reboot.

If desired, a kernel from the kernels/ directory may be used instead.  For
example, to use the kernel in kernels/scsi.s/, you would copy it to the
boot directory like this:

cd kernels/scsi.s
cp bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-scsi.s-2.4.23

Create a symbolic link:
ln -sf /boot/vmlinuz-scsi.s-2.4.23 /boot/vmlinuz

Then, run 'lilo' or create a new system boot disk and reboot.


+-----+

Slackware Linux Security Team
http://slackware.com/gpg-key
security@slackware.com

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