Synopsis

php security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated php packages that fix various security issues and bugs are now
available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

Description

PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language commonly used with the Apache
HTTP Web server.

Flaws including possible information disclosure, double free, and negative
reference index array underflow were found in the deserialization code of
PHP. PHP applications may use the unserialize function on untrusted user
data, which could allow a remote attacker to gain access to memory or
potentially execute arbitrary code. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1019 to
this issue.

A flaw in the exif extension of PHP was found which lead to a stack
overflow. An attacker could create a carefully crafted image file in such
a way that if parsed by a PHP script using the exif extension it could
cause a crash or potentially execute arbitrary code. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2004-1065 to this issue.

An information disclosure bug was discovered in the parsing of "GPC"
variables in PHP (query strings or cookies, and POST form data). If
particular scripts used the values of the GPC variables, portions of the
memory space of an httpd child process could be revealed to the client.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has
assigned the name CAN-2004-0958 to this issue.

A file access bug was discovered in the parsing of "multipart/form-data"
forms, used by PHP scripts which allow file uploads. In particular
configurations, some scripts could allow a malicious client to upload files
to an arbitrary directory where the "apache" user has write access. The
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned
the name CAN-2004-0959 to this issue.

Flaws were found in shmop_write, pack, and unpack PHP functions. These
functions are not normally passed user supplied data, so would require a
malicious PHP script to be exploited. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1018 to
this issue.

Various issues were discovered in the use of the "select" system call in
PHP, which could be triggered if PHP is used in an Apache configuration
where the number of open files (such as virtual host log files) exceeds the
default process limit of 1024. Workarounds are now included for some of
these issues.

The "phpize" shell script included in PHP can be used to build third-party
extension modules. A build issue was discovered in the "phpize" script on
some 64-bit platforms which prevented correct operation.

The "pcntl" extension module is now enabled in the command line PHP
interpreter, /usr/bin/php. This module enables process control features
such as "fork" and "kill" from PHP scripts.

Users of PHP should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain fixes
for 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 3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 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 Desktop 3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 3 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 - 131412 - Include process control extension, pcntl
• BZ - 131562 - phpize is broken on x86_64
• BZ - 132003 - fopen doesn't work across remote connections while under Apache
• BZ - 134971 - CAN-2004-0958 PHP variable parsing
• BZ - 134975 - CAN-2004-0959 PHP arbitrary file creation
• BZ - 141132 - CAN-2004-1019 information disclosure issues
• BZ - 142056 - CAN-2004-1065 ext/exif/exif.c - exif_read_data() overflow on long sectionname

CVEs

• CVE-2004-1019
• CVE-2004-1018
• CVE-2004-0958
• CVE-2004-0959
• CVE-2004-1065

References

(none)

This erratum does not contain any packages.