RHSA-2007:0276 - Security Advisory

Topic

Updated shadow-utils packages that fix a security issue and various bugs
are now available.

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

Description

The shadow-utils package includes the necessary programs for converting
UNIX password files to the shadow password format, as well as programs for
managing user and group accounts.

A flaw was found in the useradd tool in shadow-utils. A new user's
mailbox, when created, could have random permissions for a short period.
This could allow a local attacker to read or modify the mailbox.
(CVE-2006-1174)

This update also fixes the following bugs:

• shadow-utils debuginfo package was empty.
• faillog was unusable on 64-bit systems. It checked every UID from 0 to

the max UID, which was an excessively large number on 64-bit systems.

• typo bug in login.defs file

All users of shadow-utils are advised to upgrade to these updated packages,
which contain backported patches to resolve these issues.

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 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 4 ppc

Fixes

• BZ - 176951 - shadow-utils-debuginfo is empty
• BZ - 177017 - faillog doesn't handle large UIDs well
• BZ - 188263 - typo in /etc/login.defs
• BZ - 193053 - CVE-2006-1174 shadow-utils mailbox creation race condition

CVEs

• CVE-2006-1174

References

• http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#low