Synopsis

sysstat security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Moderate

Topic

Updated sysstat packages that fix various bugs and security issues are now
available.

Description

Sysstat is a tool for gathering system statistics. Isag is a utility for
graphically displaying these statistics.

A bug was found in the Red Hat sysstat package post and trigger scripts,
which used insecure temporary file names. A local attacker could overwrite
system files using carefully-crafted symbolic links in the /tmp directory.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has
assigned the name CAN-2004-0107 to this issue.

While fixing this issue, a flaw was discovered in the isag utility, which
also used insecure temporary file names. A local attacker could overwrite
files that the user running isag has write access to using
carefully-crafted symbolic links in the /tmp directory. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2004-0108 to this issue.

Other issues addressed in this advisory include:

• iostat -x should return all partitions on the system (up to a maximum of
  1024)
  
• sar should handle network device names with more than 8 characters properly
  
• mpstat should work correctly with more than 7 CPUs as well as generate
  correct statistics when accessing individual CPUs. This issue only
  affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1
  
• The sysstat package was not built with the proper dependencies;
  therefore, it was possible that isag could not be run because the necessary
  tools were not available. Therefore, isag was split off into its own
  subpackage with the required dependencies in place. This issue only
  affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1.
  

Users of sysstat and isag should upgrade to these updated packages, which
contain patches to correct these issues.

NOTE: In order to use isag on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, you must
install the sysstat-isag package after upgrading.

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 3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 3 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 3 s390
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 3 ppc

Fixes

• BZ - 78212 - sysstat package post scripts, trigger scripts use insecure tmp files
• BZ - 90574 - mpstat doesn't report on more than 7 cpus
• BZ - 92052 - sar doesn't seem to handle interface names greater than eight chars
• BZ - 110822 - RHEL 3 U2: iostat -x only returns a small set of the partitions on the system

CVEs

• CVE-2004-0107
• CVE-2004-0108

References

(none)

This erratum does not contain any packages.