RHSA-2009:1289 - Security Advisory

Topic

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

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

Description

MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database server. It consists of
the MySQL server daemon (mysqld) and many client programs and libraries.

MySQL did not correctly check directories used as arguments for the DATA
DIRECTORY and INDEX DIRECTORY directives. Using this flaw, an authenticated
attacker could elevate their access privileges to tables created by other
database users. Note: This attack does not work on existing tables. An
attacker can only elevate their access to another user's tables as the
tables are created. As well, the names of these created tables need to be
predicted correctly for this attack to succeed. (CVE-2008-2079)

A flaw was found in the way MySQL handles an empty bit-string literal. A
remote, authenticated attacker could crash the MySQL server daemon (mysqld)
if they used an empty bit-string literal in an SQL statement. This issue
only caused a temporary denial of service, as the MySQL daemon was
automatically restarted after the crash. (CVE-2008-3963)

An insufficient HTML entities quoting flaw was found in the mysql command
line client's HTML output mode. If an attacker was able to inject arbitrary
HTML tags into data stored in a MySQL database, which was later retrieved
using the mysql command line client and its HTML output mode, they could
perform a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against victims viewing the
HTML output in a web browser. (CVE-2008-4456)

Multiple format string flaws were found in the way the MySQL server logs
user commands when creating and deleting databases. A remote, authenticated
attacker with permissions to CREATE and DROP databases could use these
flaws to formulate a specifically-crafted SQL command that would cause a
temporary denial of service (open connections to mysqld are terminated).
(CVE-2009-2446)

Note: To exploit the CVE-2009-2446 flaws, the general query log (the mysqld
"--log" command line option or the "log" option in "/etc/my.cnf") must be
enabled. This logging is not enabled by default.

This update also fixes multiple bugs. Details regarding these bugs can be
found in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 Technical Notes. You can find a
link to the Technical Notes in the References section of this errata.

Note: These updated packages upgrade MySQL to version 5.0.77 to incorporate
numerous upstream bug fixes. Details of these changes are found in the
following MySQL Release Notes:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/news-5-0-77.html

All MySQL users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
resolve these issues. After installing this update, the MySQL server
daemon (mysqld) will be restarted automatically.

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/docs/DOC-11259

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 5 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 435494 - Timeout error starting MySQL when using non-default socket file value (fix provided)
• BZ - 445222 - CVE-2008-2079 mysql: privilege escalation via DATA/INDEX DIRECTORY directives
• BZ - 448534 - upgrade to RHEL5.2 - breaks mysql replication between MasterDB and Slave
• BZ - 450178 - Somewhat dubious code in mysqld init.d script
• BZ - 452824 - mysql-server crash permanently
• BZ - 453156 - DATE function used in WHERE clause - broken
• BZ - 455619 - tmpdir variable not honored for internally created temporary tables
• BZ - 457218 - 'Explicit or implicit commit' error/server crash with concurrent transactions
• BZ - 462071 - CVE-2008-3963 MySQL: Using an empty binary value leads to server crash
• BZ - 462534 - SQL Config files should not be read more than once
• BZ - 466518 - CVE-2008-4456 mysql: mysql command line client XSS flaw
• BZ - 470036 - Got query result when using ORDER BY ASC, but empty result when using DESC
• BZ - 476896 - CVE-2008-3963 MySQL: Using an empty binary value leads to server crash
• BZ - 511020 - CVE-2009-2446 MySQL: Format string vulnerability by manipulation with database instances (crash)

CVEs

• CVE-2008-2079
• CVE-2008-3963
• CVE-2008-4456
• CVE-2009-2446

References

• http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#moderate
• http://www.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5.4/html/Technical_Notes/mysql.html