copyright | disclaimer | privacy | contact  
Australia's Leading Computer Emergency Response Team
 
Search this site

 
On this site

 > HOME
 > About AusCERT
 > Membership
 > Contact Us
 > PKI Services
 > Training
 > Publications
 > Sec. Bulletins
 > Conferences
 > News & Media
 > Services
 > Web Log
 > Site Map
 > Site Help
 > Member login





 

ESB-2012.0016 - [FreeBSD] pam: Root compromise - Existing account

Date: 04 January 2012
References: ESB-2011.1261  

Click here for printable version
Click here for PGP verifiable version
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

===========================================================================
             AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution

                               ESB-2012.0016
                pam_start() does not validate service names
                              4 January 2012

===========================================================================

        AusCERT Security Bulletin Summary
        ---------------------------------

Product:           pam
Publisher:         FreeBSD
Operating System:  FreeBSD
Impact/Access:     Root Compromise      -- Existing Account
                   Increased Privileges -- Existing Account
Resolution:        Patch/Upgrade
CVE Names:         CVE-2011-4122  

Reference:         ESB-2011.1261

Original Bulletin: 
   ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/CERT/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-11:10.pam.asc

- --------------------------BEGIN INCLUDED TEXT--------------------

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

=============================================================================
FreeBSD-SA-11:10.pam                                        Security Advisory
                                                          The FreeBSD Project

Topic:          pam_start() does not validate service names

Category:       contrib
Module:         pam
Announced:      2011-12-23
Credits:        Matthias Drochner
Affects:        All supported versions of FreeBSD.
Corrected:      2011-12-13 13:03:11 UTC (RELENG_7, 7.4-STABLE)
                2011-12-23 15:00:37 UTC (RELENG_7_4, 7.4-RELEASE-p5)
                2011-12-23 15:00:37 UTC (RELENG_7_3, 7.3-RELEASE-p9)
                2011-12-13 13:02:52 UTC (RELENG_8, 8.2-STABLE)
                2011-12-23 15:00:37 UTC (RELENG_8_2, 8.2-RELEASE-p5)
                2011-12-23 15:00:37 UTC (RELENG_8_1, 8.1-RELEASE-p7)
                2011-12-13 12:59:39 UTC (RELENG_9, 9.0-STABLE)
                2011-12-13 13:02:31 UTC (RELENG_9_0, 9.0-RELEASE)
CVE Name:       CVE-2011-4122

For general information regarding FreeBSD Security Advisories,
including descriptions of the fields above, security branches, and the
following sections, please visit <URL:http://security.FreeBSD.org/>.

I.   Background

The PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) library provides a flexible
framework for user authentication and session setup / teardown.  It is
used not only in the base system, but also by a large number of
third-party applications.

Various authentication methods (UNIX, LDAP, Kerberos etc.) are
implemented in modules which are loaded and executed according to
predefined, named policies.  These policies are defined in
/etc/pam.conf, /etc/pam.d/<policy name>, /usr/local/etc/pam.conf or
/usr/local/etc/pam.d/<policy name>.

The PAM API is a de facto industry standard which has been implemented
by several parties.  FreeBSD uses the OpenPAM implementation.

II.  Problem Description

Some third-party applications, including KDE's kcheckpass command,
allow the user to specify the name of the policy on the command line.
Since OpenPAM treats the policy name as a path relative to /etc/pam.d
or /usr/local/etc/pam.d, users who are permitted to run such an
application can craft their own policies and cause the application
to load and execute their own modules.

III. Impact

If an application that runs with root privileges allows the user to
specify the name of the PAM policy to load, users who are permitted to
run that application will be able to execute arbitrary code with root
privileges.

There are no vulnerable applications in the base system.

IV.  Workaround

No workaround is available, but systems without untrusted users are
not vulnerable.

Inspect any third-party setuid / setgid binaries which use the PAM
library and ascertain whether they allow the user to specify the
policy name, then either change the binary's permissions to prevent
its use or remove it altogether.

The following command will output a non-zero number if a dynamically
linked binary uses libpam:

# ldd /usr/local/bin/suspicious_binary | grep -c libpam

The following command will output a non-zero number if a statically
linked binary uses libpam:

# grep -acF "/etc/pam.d/" /usr/local/bin/suspicious_binary

V.   Solution

Perform one of the following:

1) Upgrade your vulnerable system to 7-STABLE or 8-STABLE, or to
the RELENG_8_2, RELENG_8_1, RELENG_7_4, or RELENG_7_3 security
branch dated after the correction date.

2) To update your vulnerable system via a source code patch:

The following patches have been verified to apply to FreeBSD 7.4, 7.3,
8.2 and 8.1 systems.

a) Download the relevant patch from the location below, and verify the
detached PGP signature using your PGP utility.

# fetch http://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-11:10/pam.patch
# fetch http://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-11:10/pam.patch.asc

b) Execute the following commands as root:

# cd /usr/src
# patch < /path/to/patch
# cd /usr/src/lib/libpam
# make obj && make depend && make && make install

NOTE: On the amd64 platform, the above procedure will not update the
lib32 (i386 compatibility) libraries.  On amd64 systems where the i386
compatibility libraries are used, the operating system should instead
be recompiled as described in
<URL:http://www.FreeBSD.org/handbook/makeworld.html>

3) To update your vulnerable system via a binary patch:

Systems running 7.4-RELEASE, 7.3-RELEASE, 8.2-RELEASE, or 8.1-RELEASE on
the i386 or amd64 platforms can be updated via the freebsd-update(8)
utility:

# freebsd-update fetch
# freebsd-update install

VI.  Correction details

The following list contains the revision numbers of each file that was
corrected in FreeBSD.

CVS:

Branch                                                           Revision
  Path
- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELENG_7
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                1.1.1.7.20.2
RELENG_7_4
  src/UPDATING                                             1.507.2.36.2.7
  src/sys/conf/newvers.sh                                  1.72.2.18.2.10
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c            1.1.1.7.20.1.8.1
RELENG_7_3
  src/UPDATING                                            1.507.2.34.2.11
  src/sys/conf/newvers.sh                                  1.72.2.16.2.13
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c            1.1.1.7.20.1.6.1
RELENG_8
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                 1.1.1.8.2.1
RELENG_8_2
  src/UPDATING                                             1.632.2.19.2.7
  src/sys/conf/newvers.sh                                  1.83.2.12.2.10
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                 1.1.1.8.8.1
RELENG_8_1
  src/UPDATING                                            1.632.2.14.2.10
  src/sys/conf/newvers.sh                                  1.83.2.10.2.11
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                 1.1.1.8.6.1
RELENG_9
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                1.1.1.8.10.1
RELENG_9_0
  src/contrib/openpam/lib/openpam_configure.c                1.1.1.8.12.1
- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subversion:

Branch/path                                                      Revision
- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
stable/7/                                                         r228467
releng/7.4/                                                       r228843
releng/7.3/                                                       r228843
stable/8/                                                         r228466
releng/8.2/                                                       r228843
releng/8.1/                                                       r228843
stable/9/                                                         r228464
releng/9.0/                                                       r228465
- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. References

http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2011-4122

The latest revision of this advisory is available at
http://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-11:10.pam.asc
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v2.0.18 (FreeBSD)

iEYEARECAAYFAk70nOoACgkQFdaIBMps37KEWgCgiD/7EymFrnFueD7yyLiI3hLV
lU4An2FUTQRJ0GakViobm9ejHdfmf2Vb
=9COS
- -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

- --------------------------END INCLUDED TEXT--------------------

You have received this e-mail bulletin as a result of your organisation's
registration with AusCERT. The mailing list you are subscribed to is
maintained within your organisation, so if you do not wish to continue
receiving these bulletins you should contact your local IT manager. If
you do not know who that is, please send an email to auscert@auscert.org.au
and we will forward your request to the appropriate person.

NOTE: Third Party Rights
This security bulletin is provided as a service to AusCERT's members.  As
AusCERT did not write the document quoted above, AusCERT has had no control
over its content. 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.

NOTE: This is only the original release of the security bulletin.  It may
not be updated when updates to the original are made.  If downloading at
a later date, it is recommended that the bulletin is retrieved directly
from the author's website to ensure that the information is still current.

Contact information for the authors of the original document is included
in the Security Bulletin above.  If you have any questions or need further
information, please contact them directly.

Previous advisories and external security bulletins can be retrieved from:

        http://www.auscert.org.au/render.html?cid=1980

===========================================================================
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.
===========================================================================
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Comment: http://www.auscert.org.au/render.html?it=1967
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=PKsU
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----