CVE-2011-3148

Description

From CVE.org

Stack-based buffer overflow in the _assemble_line function in modules/pam_env/pam_env.c in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.1.5 allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long string of white spaces at the beginning of the ~/.pam_environment file.

Statement

This issue did not affect the versions of pam package as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

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 HatNVDcve.org
Base Score3.74.6N/A
Attack VectorLocalLocalN/A
Access ComplexityHighLowN/A
AuthenticationNoneNoneN/A
Confidentiality ImpactPartialPartialN/A
Integrity ImpactPartialPartialN/A
Availability ImpactPartialPartialN/A

Vector

Red Hat: AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

NVD: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: Modify Memory; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)

Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.

Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control

Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism

Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.

Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control,Other

Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism; Other

When the consequence is arbitrary code execution, this can often be used to subvert any other security service.

Acknowledgements

Red Hat would like to thank Kees Cook (Google ChromeOS Team) for reporting this issue.

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