GLSA 200406-05: Apache: Buffer overflow in mod_ssl

Severity:high
Title:Apache: Buffer overflow in mod_ssl
Date:06/09/2004
Bugs: #51368
ID:200406-05

Synopsis

A bug in mod_ssl may allow a remote attacker to execute remote code when Apache is configured a certain way.

Background

Apache is the most popular Web server on the Internet. mod_ssl provides Secure Sockets Layer encryption and authentication to Apache 1.3. Apache 2 contains the functionality of mod_ssl.

Affected packages

Package Vulnerable Unaffected Architecture(s)
net-www/mod_ssl < 2.8.18 >= 2.8.18 All supported architectures
www-servers/apache <= 2.0.49-r2 < 2.0 All supported architectures

Description

A bug in the function ssl_util_uuencode_binary in ssl_util.c may lead to a remote buffer overflow on a server configured to use FakeBasicAuth that will trust a client certificate with an issuing CA with a subject DN longer than 6k.

Impact

Given the right server configuration, an attacker could cause a Denial of Service or execute code as the user running Apache, usually "apache". It is thought to be impossible to exploit this to execute code on the x86 platform, but the possibility for other platforms is unknown. This does not preclude a DoS on x86 systems.

Workaround

A server should not be vulnerable if it is not configured to use FakeBasicAuth and to trust a client CA with a long subject DN.

Resolution

Apache 1.x users should upgrade to the latest version of mod_ssl:

    # emerge sync

    # emerge -pv ">=net-www/mod_ssl-2.8.18"
    # emerge ">=net-www/mod_ssl-2.8.18"

Apache 2.x users should upgrade to the latest version of Apache:

# emerge sync # emerge -pv ">=www-servers/apache-2.0.49-r3" # emerge ">=www-servers/apache-2.0.49-r3"

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200406-05.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!