OpenBSD exploit gets serious

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/15614.html

By: John Leyden
Posted: 20/12/2000 at 15:19 GMT

An esoteric buffer overflow bug in OpenBSD has been upgraded in
importance after it was discovered that, in certain conditions, it
could allow a cracker to gain remote access to a server.

Users are recommended to apply a patch to fix the one-byte buffer
overflow vulnerability present in an OpenBSD service called ftpd(8).
The issue particularly affects non-anonymous FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) servers, and administrators of these services are also been
encouraged to use more secure transport mechanisms.

For a system to be vulnerable, ftpd must have been enabled by the
administrator because by default OpenBSD ships with the service turned
off - though it is a frequently used service.

The potential risk from the vulnerability is minimised by the fact
that to exploit the problem a cracker must have access to at least one
directory.

These factors led to the importance of the bug to be downplayed at
first. However the discovery, earlier this week, of a publicly
available exploit of the vulnerability led OpenBSD developers to issue
a fresh advisory on the issue.

The vulnerability affects OpenBSD versions through 2.8 and NetBSD,
though it is not believed to affect FreeBSD.

OpenBSD administrators using ftpd are advised to disable the service
and then apply the patch, available here, to their OpenBSD 2.8 source
tree.

[ OpenBSD patch at: http://www.openbsd.org/errata.html ]

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