RHSA-2003:257 - Security Advisory

Topic

Updated Perl packages that fix a security issue in Safe.pm and a cross-site
scripting (XSS) vulnerability in CGI.pm are now available.

Description

Perl is a high-level programming language commonly used for system
administration utilities and Web programming.

Two security issues have been found in Perl that affect the Perl packages
shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

When safe.pm versions 2.0.7 and earlier are used with Perl 5.8.0 and
earlier, it is possible for an attacker to break out of safe compartments
within Safe::reval and Safe::rdo by using a redefined @_ variable. This is
due to the fact that the redefined @_ variable is not reset between
successive calls. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2002-1323 to this issue.

A cross-site scripting vulnerability was discovered in the start_form()
function of CGI.pm. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to insert a
Web script via a URL fed into the form's action parameter. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2003-0615 to this issue.

Users of Perl are advised to upgrade to these erratum packages, which
contain Perl 5.6.1 with backported security patches correcting these issues.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.

To update all RPMs for your particular architecture, run:

rpm -Fvh [filenames]

where [filenames] is a list of the RPMs you wish to upgrade. Only those
RPMs which are currently installed will be updated. Those RPMs which are
not installed but included in the list will not be updated. Note that you
can also use wildcards (*.rpm) if your current directory *only* contains the
desired RPMs.

Please note that this update is also available via Red Hat Network. Many
people find this an easier way to apply updates. To use Red Hat Network,
launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate
RPMs being upgraded on your system.

If up2date fails to connect to Red Hat Network due to SSL Certificate
Errors, you need to install a version of the up2date client with an updated
certificate. The latest version of up2date is available from the Red Hat
FTP site and may also be downloaded directly from the RHN website:

https://rhn.redhat.com/help/latest-up2date.pxt

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 102191 - CAN-2002-1323 SAFE.pm compartment issue
• BZ - 102192 - CAN-2003-0615 XSS vulnerability in CGI.pm

CVEs

• CVE-2003-0615
• CVE-2002-1323

References

(none)