Bugtraq mailing list archives

Re: Xserver stack smashed -- wrapper


From: ulianov () MECANICA MATH UNIBUC RO (Cotfas Vladimir-Marian)
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 17:32:02 +0200



Summary:

On a system where X11R6-based Xserver (R5 is probably affected too) is
installed setuid or setgid (e.g. typical XFree86 installation has XF86_*
setuid root), local users can exploit a buffer overrun in its code and
gain extra privileges (e.g. root privileges when Xserver is setuid root).


Quick vulnerability check:

X :00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000009

(add -nolock for XFree86, change X to whatever name your Xserver has)

Vulnerable Xserver will crash (Segmentation fault).

(Note: machines immunized against stack smashing--e.g. Linux boxes with
Solar Designer's kernel patch--are probably not vulnerable.)


Quick fix:

* remove setuid/setgid bit from all installed Xservers
* use xdm or a safe setuid wrapper to start Xserver


Details:

X11R6.x Xserver recognizes a runtime argument specifying the desired
display (e.g. X :1). It accepts ANY value regardless of its length
and contents (save from the initial colon).

Excerpt from xc/programs/Xserver/os/access.c (X11R6.3)

/* Reset access control list to initial hosts */
void
ResetHosts (display)
    char *display;
{
    register HOST       *host;
    char                lhostname[120], ohostname[120];
    char                *hostname = ohostname;
    char                fname[100];

[snip]

    strcpy (fname, "/etc/X");
    strcat (fname, display);
    strcat (fname, ".hosts");
    if (fd = fopen (fname, "r"))
[snip]

}

Xserver calls ResetHosts() during its startup. A very long value of
"display" (100 + 2*120 + delta bytes) overflows "fname" and corrupts
the stack.

An actual exploit is left as an exercise for the reader. :)

There are probably other vulnerable places in Xserver code. (I have
spotted another buffer overrun in LockServer() (os/utils.c, XFree86
specific) but this one seems to be benign.) Anyone willing to pay me
big bucks for an exhaustive audit is welcome. :)


--Pavel Kankovsky aka Peak (troja.mff.cuni.cz network administration)
          [ Boycott Microsoft -- http://www.vcnet.com/bms ]


Here's a wrapper for this bug and for the older XF86 security vulnerability
(i.e. XF86_XX -config /etc/shadow)

Vladimir

----------------------------cut from here-------------------------------
/*
  Description: X server wrapper

  Goals:
   1. wrap the "-config" security vulnerabillity
   2. wrap the :000000000000...00000000000000009 potential buffer overflow

  Instalation steps:
   0. Become root (su -)
   1. Modify the X_Server program variable according to your taste
      (i.e. the X server true path, not the link to it!)
   2. Compile this program as
        cc Xserver.c -O4 -o Xserver
   3. Copy the resulting binary to /usr/X11/bin, or whatever path you may have
   4. chmod 04711 Xserver
   5. Suppose your X server is called "XF86_S3"; issue a command
        chmod 0711 XF86_S3
   6. Remove the old link for X (e.g X -> /usr/X11/bin/XF86_S3)
   7. Make a new link
        ln -s /usr/X11/bin/Xserver /usr/X11/bin/X

   Copyright policy: the GNU Public License.

   This program is intended as a temporary patch for an existing X server;
   it is provided "as is", the author is not responsible for any
   direct/indirect damage(s) caused by its use.
*/

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <syslog.h>
#include <pwd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>

/*
   This is intended for debugging porposes only.
   Do NOT define this for a normal usage!!
*/
#define _DEBUG
#define SIZE 1024

/* guaranteed filled with NULLs by UNIX */
char* args[SIZE];
int argsCount = 0;

char* sccsID =
  "@(#) X wrapper 1.0 Copyright (C) 1998 by Vadimir COTFAS (ulianov () mecanica math unibuc ro), Jan 14th 1998";
char *X_Server = "/usr/X11/bin/XF86_S3";

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
   int i;
   uid_t uid, euid;
   struct passwd* pass;

   openlog("Xserver", LOG_CONS|LOG_NDELAY|LOG_PERROR|LOG_PID, LOG_AUTHPRIV);
   uid = getuid(); euid = geteuid();

   if(!((uid==0) || (euid==0))){
      fprintf(stderr,"Xserver: this program must be run as (setuid) root\n");
      exit(1);
   }

   pass = getpwuid(uid);

   for(i=0; i<argc; i++){
      char* p;
      if((index(argv[i],':') != NULL) && (strlen(argv[i]) > 2)){
         syslog(LOG_NOTICE, "potential buff ovrflw at arg #%d user %s",
                 i, pass->pw_name);
         continue;
      }
      if(strstr(argv[i], "-config")){
         syslog(LOG_NOTICE, "security vulnerability at arg #%d user %s \n",
                 i, pass->pw_name);
         i++;
         continue;
      }
      if(argsCount >= SIZE){
         syslog(LOG_NOTICE, "too many args (>1024) user %s \n", pass->pw_name);
         exit(1);
      }
      args[argsCount++] = argv[i];
   }
   args[argsCount] = NULL; /* just to be sure */

#ifdef DEBUG
   for(i=0; i<argsCount; i++) printf("%s ", args[i]);
   printf("\n");
#endif

   if(execv(X_Server, args) < 0){
     fprintf(stderr,"Xserver: could not execute the X server ``%s''\n", X_Server);
     exit(1);
   }

   /*NOTREACHED*/
   return 0;
}
/* EOF */----
Network Guru Administrator
http://www.mecanica.math.unibuc.ro/~ulianov
Alternate e-mail ulianov () unibuc ro
Home Phone: 40-01-7776598, 40-068-181613



Current thread: