RHSA-2005:801 - Security Advisory

Topic

An updated gdb package that fixes minor security issues is now available.

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

Description

GDB, the GNU debugger, allows debugging of programs written in C, C++, and
other languages by executing them in a controlled fashion, then printing
their data.

Several integer overflow bugs were found in gdb. If a user is tricked into
processing a specially crafted executable file, it may allow the execution
of arbitrary code as the user running gdb. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-1704 to
this issue.

A bug was found in the way gdb loads .gdbinit files. When a user executes
gdb, the local directory is searched for a .gdbinit file which is then
loaded. It is possible for a local user to execute arbitrary commands as
the user running gdb by placing a malicious .gdbinit file in a location
where gdb may be run. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-1705 to this issue.

All users of gdb should upgrade to this updated package, which contains
backported patches that resolve these issues.

Solution

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network. 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.

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 - 169905 - CAN-2005-1705 gdb arbitrary command execution
• BZ - 169906 - CAN-2005-1704 Integer overflow in gdb

CVEs

• CVE-2005-1705

References

(none)