Bugtraq mailing list archives

Re: mc & Segmentation fault


From: sw3wn () CSOFT NET (Sw3)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 23:49:29 -0400


shaman wrote:

Some days ago i discovered something..If you export TERM with the name for
example "buqtraq" and you will start Midnight Commander you will see
something like this:

localhost:~$ export TERM="bugtraq"
localhost:~$ mc
Unknown terminal: buqtraq
Check the TERM environment variable.
Also make sure that the terminal is defined in the terminfo database.
Alternatively, set the TERMCAP environment variable to the desired
termcap entry.

But if the name of the TERM will include over 227 characters you will see
something different:
localhost:~$ export TERM="bugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraq
     bugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraq
     bugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraq
     bugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraq
     bugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraqbugtraq
     "
localhost:~$ mc
Segmentation fault
localhost:~$

I don`t know if it is interesting and i haven`t try do exploiting it but
maybe someone....
I have tested it only on Slackware 3.5.


This is clearly a buffer overflow, but not a security compromise, since
it's
not remote exploitable nor suid anything.

I checked it out, it seems to be a stack overflow, ie. the program
counter is just next to it, quite common.  I contacted the authors about
it.

--
   Julien Nadeau      | sw3wn () csoft net
  Proof of concept    | "A complex solution to a simple problem"
http://poc.csoft.net  | [http://www.csoft.net/~sw3wn]



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