RHSA-2007:0286 - Security Advisory

Topic

An updated gdm package that fixes a security issue and a bug is now available.

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

Description

Gdm (the GNOME Display Manager) is a highly configurable reimplementation
of xdm, the X Display Manager. Gdm allows you to log into your system with
the X Window System running and supports running several different X
sessions on your local machine at the same time.

Marcus Meissner discovered a race condition issue in the way Gdm modifies
the permissions on the .ICEauthority file. A local attacker could exploit
this flaw to gain privileges. Due to the nature of the flaw, however, a
successful exploitation was unlikely. (CVE-2006-1057)

This erratum also includes a bug fix to correct the pam configuration for
the audit system.

All users of gdm should upgrade to this updated package, which contains
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 - 159338 - gdm update for new audit system
• BZ - 188302 - CVE-2006-1057 GDM file permissions race condition

CVEs

• CVE-2006-1057

References

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