Synopsis

Moderate: pidgin security and bug fix update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Moderate

Topic

Updated Pidgin packages that fix several security issues and bugs are now
available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5.

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

Description

Pidgin is a multi-protocol Internet Messaging client.

A denial-of-service flaw was found in Pidgin's MSN protocol handler. If a
remote user was able to send, and the Pidgin user accepted, a
carefully-crafted file request, it could result in Pidgin crashing.
(CVE-2008-2955)

A denial-of-service flaw was found in Pidgin's Universal Plug and Play
(UPnP) request handling. A malicious UPnP server could send a request to
Pidgin, causing it to download an excessive amount of data, consuming all
available memory or disk space. (CVE-2008-2957)

A flaw was found in the way Pidgin handled SSL certificates. The NSS SSL
implementation in Pidgin did not properly verify the authenticity of SSL
certificates. This could have resulted in users unknowingly connecting to a
malicious SSL service. (CVE-2008-3532)

In addition, this update upgrades pidgin from version 2.3.1 to version
2.5.2, with many additional stability and functionality fixes from the
Pidgin Project.

Note: the Secure Internet Live Conferencing (SILC) chat network protocol
has recently changed, affecting all versions of pidgin shipped with Red Hat
Enterprise Linux.

Pidgin cannot currently connect to the latest version of the SILC server
(1.1.14): it fails to properly exchange keys during initial login. This
update does not correct this. Red Hat Bugzilla #474212 (linked to in the
References section) has more information.

Note: after the errata packages are installed, Pidgin must be restarted for
the update to take effect.

All Pidgin users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contains
Pidgin version 2.5.2 and resolves these issues.

Solution

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_58_10188

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 i386
• 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 for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 5.2 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 5.2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 4.7 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 4.7 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 4.7 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 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 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 4 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 4.7 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 446562 - User Tune (XEP-0118) shouldn't default on
• BZ - 453736 - CVE-2008-2955 pidgin: remote DoS via MSN message with crafted file name
• BZ - 453740 - CVE-2008-2957 pidgin: unrestricted download of arbitrary files triggered via UPnP
• BZ - 457907 - CVE-2008-3532 pidgin: NSS plugin doesn't verify SSL certificates
• BZ - 471858 - Failed to add new MSN group.
• BZ - 472508 - The Font settings that I customized didn't apply to the outgoing message on the conversation window

CVEs

• CVE-2008-2955
• CVE-2008-2957
• CVE-2008-3532

References