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AA-2009.0140                  AUSCERT Advisory

                             [Win][UNIX/Linux]
                          Ruby: Denial of Service
                               12 June 2009
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        AusCERT Advisory Summary
        ------------------------

Product:              Ruby
Operating System:     UNIX variants (UNIX, Linux, OSX)
                      Windows
Impact:               Denial of Service
Access:               Remote/Unauthenticated
CVE Names:            CVE-2009-1904
Member content until: Thursday, July 09 2009

Revision History:     June 12 2009: Added CVE Reference
                      June 11 2009: Initial Release

OVERVIEW:

       A security vulnerability has been reported in the BigDecimal library
       of Ruby.


IMPACT:

       The vendor has provided the following information regarding this 
       vulnerability:

       "A denial of service (DoS) vulnerability was found on the BigDecimal 
       standard library of Ruby. Conversion from BigDecimal objects into 
       Float numbers had a problem which enables attackers to effectively 
       cause segmentation faults.

       ActiveRecord relies on this method, so most Rails applications are 
       affected by this. Though this is not a Rails-specific issue." [1]

       Only the 1.8 series is vulnerable. [1]


MITIGATION:

       The vendor recommends upgrading to 1.8.6-p369 [2] or 1.8.7-p173 [3].
       

REFERENCES:

       [1] DoS vulnerability in BigDecimal
           http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2009/06/09/dos-vulnerability-in-bigdecimal/

       [2] Ruby 1.8.6-p369
           ftp://ftp.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/1.8/ruby-1.8.6-p369.tar.gz

       [3] Ruby 1.8.7-p173
           ftp://ftp.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/1.8/ruby-1.8.7-p173.tar.gz

AusCERT has made every effort to ensure that the information contained
in this document is accurate.  However, the decision to use the information
described is the responsibility of each user or organisation. The decision to
follow or act on information or advice contained in this security bulletin is
the responsibility of each user or organisation, and should be considered in
accordance with your organisation's site policies and procedures. AusCERT
takes no responsibility for consequences which may arise from following or
acting on information or advice contained in this security bulletin.

If you believe that your computer system has been compromised or attacked in 
any way, we encourage you to let us know by completing the secure National IT 
Incident Reporting Form at:

        http://www.auscert.org.au/render.html?it=3192

===========================================================================
Australian Computer Emergency Response Team
The University of Queensland
Brisbane
Qld 4072

Internet Email: auscert@auscert.org.au
Facsimile:      (07) 3365 7031
Telephone:      (07) 3365 4417 (International: +61 7 3365 4417)
                AusCERT personnel answer during Queensland business hours
                which are GMT+10:00 (AEST).
                On call after hours for member emergencies only.
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