CVE-2015-5196
Description
It was found that NTP's :config command could be used to set the pidfile and driftfile paths without any restrictions. A remote attacker could use this flaw to overwrite a file on the file system with a file containing the pid of the ntpd process (immediately) or the current estimated drift of the system clock (in hourly intervals).
Mitigation
Disable remote runtime configuration with ntpq or ntpdc. In the default NTP configuration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, runtime configuration with ntpq or ntpdc is limited to localhost.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v2 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | N/A |
| Access Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Authentication | Single | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Partial | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories; Modify Files or Directories
The application can operate on unexpected files. Confidentiality is violated when the targeted filename is not directly readable by the attacker.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
The application can operate on unexpected files. This may violate integrity if the filename is written to, or if the filename is for a program or other form of executable code.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
The application can operate on unexpected files. Availability can be violated if the attacker specifies an unexpected file that the application modifies. Availability can also be affected if the attacker specifies a filename for a large file, or points to a special device or a file that does not have the format that the application expects.
Acknowledgements
This issue was discovered by Miroslav Lichvár (Red Hat).
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