RHSA-2005:217 - Security Advisory

Topic

Updated mc packages that fix multiple security issues are now available.

This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red
Hat Security Response Team.

Description

Midnight Commander (mc) is a visual shell, much like a file manager.

Several format string bugs were found in Midnight Commander. If a user is
tricked by an attacker into opening a specially crafted path with mc, it
may be possible to execute arbitrary code as the user running Midnight
Commander. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)
has assigned the name CAN-2004-1004 to this issue.

Several buffer overflow bugs were found in Midnight Commander. If a user is
tricked by an attacker into opening a specially crafted file or path
with mc, it may be possible to execute arbitrary code as the user running
Midnight Commander. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1005 to this issue.

A buffer underflow bug was found in Midnight Commander. If a malicious
local user is able to modify the extfs.ini file, it could be possible to
execute arbitrary code as a user running Midnight Commander. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2004-1176 to this issue.

Users of mc should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a
backported patch, and are not vulnerable to this issue.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat
Network to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat
Update Agent, use the following command:

up2date

For information on how to install packages manually, refer to the
following Web page for the System Administration or Customization
guide specific to your system:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/

Affected Products

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

Fixes

• BZ - 148864 - CAN-2004-1004 multiple issues with mc (CAN-2004-1005 CAN-2005-1176)

CVEs

• CVE-2004-1176
• CVE-2004-1005
• CVE-2004-1004

References

(none)