AusCERT - ESB-97.153 -- SGI Security Advisory 19971103-01-PX -- IRIX syserr and permissions programs

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ESB-97.153 -- SGI Security Advisory 19971103-01-PX -- IRIX syserr and permissions programs
Date: 19 November 1997

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

                             
              ESB-97.153 -- SGI Security Advisory 19971103-01-PX
		     IRIX syserr and permissions programs
                              19 November 1997

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

Silicon Graphics Inc. has released the following advisory concerning well
known vulnerabilities in the syserr and permissions programs.  The
vulnerability in the permissions program allows users to gain privileged
access.  The vulnerability in syserr allows random files to created and
corrupted.  Users will need local accounts to exploit these
vulnerabilities.

The following security bulletin is provided as a service to AUSCERT's
members.  As AUSCERT did not write this document, AUSCERT has had no
control over its content.  As such, the decision to use any or all of this
information is the responsibility of each user or organisation, and should
be done so in accordance with site policies and procedures.

NOTE: This is only the original release of the security bulletin.  It will
not be updated when the original bulletin is.  If downloading at a later
date, it is recommended that the bulletin is retrieved from the original
authors to ensure that the information is still current.

Contact information for SGI is included in the Security Bulletin below.
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/information/advisories.html

If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact AUSCERT or your
representative in FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams).

Internet Email: auscert@auscert.org.au
Facsimile:      (07) 3365 4477
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 emergencies.


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______________________________________________________________________________
                Silicon Graphics Inc. Security Advisory

        Title:   IRIX syserr and permissions programs
        Number:  19971103-01-PX
        Date:    November 18, 1997
______________________________________________________________________________

Silicon Graphics provides this information freely to the SGI user community
for its consideration, interpretation, implementation and use.   Silicon
Graphics recommends that this information be acted upon as soon as possible.

Silicon Graphics provides the information in this Security Advisory on
an "AS-IS" basis only, and disclaims all warranties with respect thereto,
express, implied or otherwise, including, without limitation, any warranty
of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.  In no event shall
Silicon Graphics be liable for any loss of profits, loss of business, loss
of data or for any indirect, special, exemplary, incidental or consequential
damages of any kind arising from your use of, failure to use or improper
use of any of the instructions or information in this Security Advisory.
______________________________________________________________________________

- - -----------------------
- - --- Issue Specifics ---
- - -----------------------

This advisory covers two security issues that were public reported as
two different issues.  Both these issues have been addressed together
as one issue by Silicon Graphics.

The first vulnerability involves the syserr program.   The System Error
Notification Broker (syserr) program is part of the Desktop System
Monitor which monitors the system for user defined events and then
provides notification and/or action when those events occur.

As part of normal operation, the syserr program manipulates certain
history and configuration files.  A security issue was found in
these file operations.

The second issue involves the permissions tool found in the Indigo
Magic Desktop environment.  The permissions tool allows users to modify
the Owner, Group and Others permission bits for files and directories.

A security issue was found in the operation of the permissions tool.

Silicon Graphics Inc. has investigated these issues and recommends the
following steps for neutralizing the exposure.  It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
that these measures be implemented on ALL SGI systems.  These issues will
be corrected in future releases of IRIX.


- - --------------
- - --- Impact ---
- - --------------

The IndigoMagic Desktop and Desktop System Monitor subsystems, which
contain the permissions and syserr programs respectively, are
installed by default on all desktop systems.  These subsystems may
also be installed on other non-desktop systems.

Both of these issues require a local account for these vulnerabilities
to be exploited.  With a local account, these vulnerabilities can
be exploited both locally and remotely.

Utilizing the syserr vulnerability, random files can be created
and corrupted.

With the permissions vulnerability, access can be gained as a
privileged user.

Both of these security issues have been publically disclosed and
discussed in several public forums.



- - --------------------------
- - --- Temporary Solution ---
- - --------------------------

Although patches are available for this issue, it is realized that
there may be situations where installing the patches immediately may
not be possible.

The steps below can be used to remove the vulnerability by removing
the permissions of the syserr and permissions programs.



     1) Become the root user on the system.

                % /bin/su -
                Password:
                #

     2) Change the permissions on the programs.


                # /bin/chmod 500 /usr/sbin/syserr
                # /bin/chmod 500 /usr/lib/desktop/permissions


                           ************
                           *** NOTE ***
                           ************

               Removing the permissions from these programs
               will prevent non-root users and programs from
               using these programs.


     3) Return to previous level.

                # exit
                $



- - ----------------
- - --- Solution ---
- - ----------------



   OS Version     Vulnerable?     Patch #      Other Actions
   ----------     -----------     -------      -------------

   IRIX 3.x          no
   IRIX 4.x          no
   IRIX 5.0.x        yes          not avail    Note 1
   IRIX 5.1.x        yes          not avail    Note 1
   IRIX 5.2          yes          not avail    Note 1
   IRIX 5.3          yes          2238 & 2273
   IRIX 6.0.x        yes          not avail    Note 1
   IRIX 6.1          yes          not avail    Note 1
   IRIX 6.2          yes          2239
   IRIX 6.3          yes          2240
   IRIX 6.4          yes          2241


   NOTES

     1) upgrade operating system or see "Temporary Solution" section.



Patches are available via anonymous FTP and your service/support provider.

The SGI anonymous FTP site is sgigate.sgi.com (204.94.209.1) or its
mirror, ftp.sgi.com.   Security information and patches can be found
in the ~ftp/security and ~ftp/patches directories, respectfully.



                 ##### Patch File Checksums ####

The actual patch will be a tar file containing the following files:


Filename:                 README.patch.2238
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    33138 8 README.patch.2238
Algorithm #2 (sum):       54609 8 README.patch.2238
MD5 checksum:             06FEA4B87EFAAC414D93C02286BDC43F

Filename:                 patchSG0002238
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    42580 4 patchSG0002238
Algorithm #2 (sum):       17470 4 patchSG0002238
MD5 checksum:             2B3CB2B7A1A34A060471F5EAFEC3C8D2

Filename:                 patchSG0002238.idb
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    28213 14 patchSG0002238.idb
Algorithm #2 (sum):       165 14 patchSG0002238.idb
MD5 checksum:             64C63FE7812F66F70AA9F768108CC83E

Filename:                 patchSG0002238.insight_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    14141 6000 patchSG0002238.insight_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       32280 6000 patchSG0002238.insight_sw
MD5 checksum:             9CD26F3BD01FDB3B897713E4D1CB0903

Filename:                 patchSG0002238.sysmon_books
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    24973 432 patchSG0002238.sysmon_books
Algorithm #2 (sum):       12014 432 patchSG0002238.sysmon_books
MD5 checksum:             FBD60185ECA52E1004A2149C076387D3

Filename:                 patchSG0002238.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    26734 104 patchSG0002238.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       54767 104 patchSG0002238.sysmon_sw
MD5 checksum:             A8B3E9CC35940ECE8A3B12EB19F60F1C



Filename:                 README.patch.2239
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    64560 8 README.patch.2239
Algorithm #2 (sum):       52155 8 README.patch.2239
MD5 checksum:             55BBC5958A1FF9BC54043EB0CA11DEE2

Filename:                 patchSG0002239
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    62613 5 patchSG0002239
Algorithm #2 (sum):       43481 5 patchSG0002239
MD5 checksum:             3FAEE6B9D75F5B83A841F7F062EF7B76

Filename:                 patchSG0002239.desktop_eoe_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    08003 107 patchSG0002239.desktop_eoe_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       62904 107 patchSG0002239.desktop_eoe_sw
MD5 checksum:             7D82A6EC707766C9656D70C278977875

Filename:                 patchSG0002239.idb
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    07661 12 patchSG0002239.idb
Algorithm #2 (sum):       38563 12 patchSG0002239.idb
MD5 checksum:             E8E34B1179B0F1E293207C7122BCD9E9

Filename:                 patchSG0002239.sysadmdesktop_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    65280 2881 patchSG0002239.sysadmdesktop_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       46052 2881 patchSG0002239.sysadmdesktop_sw
MD5 checksum:             902DD8070EE355A0670F1E82046C1C2B

Filename:                 patchSG0002239.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    45274 95 patchSG0002239.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       46934 95 patchSG0002239.sysmon_sw
MD5 checksum:             5DC4DD1021C72E58B96DBB6407D98729



Filename:                 README.patch.2240
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    24466 7 README.patch.2240
Algorithm #2 (sum):       19111 7 README.patch.2240
MD5 checksum:             3BC19EB3BDA842471A47070AD1FF61CD

Filename:                 patchSG0002240
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    48056 1 patchSG0002240
Algorithm #2 (sum):       31171 1 patchSG0002240
MD5 checksum:             D0C0BD5AC20A36D88E8BC6241429F078

Filename:                 patchSG0002240.idb
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    50798 1 patchSG0002240.idb
Algorithm #2 (sum):       39448 1 patchSG0002240.idb
MD5 checksum:             351BF9721D0FB68900672DBE1B4471D8

Filename:                 patchSG0002240.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    31291 79 patchSG0002240.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       13465 79 patchSG0002240.sysmon_sw
MD5 checksum:             60BEFBD357F36F386260B3C9E7692B4F



Filename:                 README.patch.2241
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    49732 7 README.patch.2241
Algorithm #2 (sum):       19173 7 README.patch.2241
MD5 checksum:             FF3183312FB43F3BFC0BF286BCC319B2

Filename:                 patchSG0002241
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    44510 1 patchSG0002241
Algorithm #2 (sum):       32569 1 patchSG0002241
MD5 checksum:             F187DE8830FFAB8BF2850DF0605606B7

Filename:                 patchSG0002241.idb
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    63962 1 patchSG0002241.idb
Algorithm #2 (sum):       39424 1 patchSG0002241.idb
MD5 checksum:             33A0B768CF9FF2C5730F23FD1CDD1339

Filename:                 patchSG0002241.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    62550 84 patchSG0002241.sysmon_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       16142 84 patchSG0002241.sysmon_sw
MD5 checksum:             C67EBFE66258F0D5A0641EC5C7A3B43C



Filename:                 README.patch.2273
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    09906 10 README.patch.2273
Algorithm #2 (sum):       48872 10 README.patch.2273
MD5 checksum:             EB63F8B61B7C20144DC73F664FFC6532

Filename:                 patchSG0002273
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    52671 3 patchSG0002273
Algorithm #2 (sum):       38361 3 patchSG0002273
MD5 checksum:             07B7E6E002B7C0D578B3919629FF5AF9

Filename:                 patchSG0002273.desktop_eoe_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    25464 108 patchSG0002273.desktop_eoe_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       64994 108 patchSG0002273.desktop_eoe_sw
MD5 checksum:             9C3453CA8D32FF16CFF4FB0B13FC983F

Filename:                 patchSG0002273.idb
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    33091 12 patchSG0002273.idb
Algorithm #2 (sum):       50364 12 patchSG0002273.idb
MD5 checksum:             62C67DB1B5070D4457B6462BD30349C5

Filename:                 patchSG0002273.sysadmdesktop_sw
Algorithm #1 (sum -r):    02318 2872 patchSG0002273.sysadmdesktop_sw
Algorithm #2 (sum):       22358 2872 patchSG0002273.sysadmdesktop_sw
MD5 checksum:             B08A2078F4F37FF8165542158717E8A5




- - ------------------------
- - --- Acknowledgments ---
- - ------------------------

Silicon Graphics wishes to thank AUSCERT and CERT Coordination Center
organizations for their assistance in this matter.




- - -----------------------------------------------------------
- - --- Silicon Graphics Inc. Security Information/Contacts ---
- - -----------------------------------------------------------

If there are questions about this document, email can be sent to
cse-security-alert@sgi.com.

                      ------oOo------

Silicon Graphics 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 information and patches
is sgigate.sgi.com (204.94.209.1).  Security information and patches
are located under the directories ~ftp/security and ~ftp/patches,
respectively. The Silicon Graphics Security Headquarters Web page is
accessible at the URL http://www.sgi.com/Support/security/security.html.

For issues with the patches on the FTP sites, email can be sent to
cse-security-alert@sgi.com.

For assistance obtaining or working with security patches, please
contact your SGI support provider.

                      ------oOo------

Silicon Graphics 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 <YourEmailAddress>
end
^d

In the example above, <YourEmailAddress> 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------

Silicon Graphics provides a comprehensive customer World Wide Web site.
This site is located at http://www.sgi.com/Support/security/security.html.

                      ------oOo------

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, Silicon
  Graphics is appropriately credited and the document retains and
  includes its valid PGP signature.


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