TUCoPS :: SCO :: ciacg27s.txt

SCO Kernel Security Vulnerability


             __________________________________________________________

                       The U.S. Department of Energy
                    Computer Incident Advisory Capability
                           ___  __ __    _     ___
                          /       |     /_\   /
                          \___  __|__  /   \  \___
             __________________________________________________________

                             INFORMATION BULLETIN

                       SCO Kernel Security Vulnerability

June 18, 1996 16:00 GMT                                            Number G-27
______________________________________________________________________________
PROBLEM:       A problem in the kernel error handling routine.
PLATFORM:      Platforms running the following versions: SCO OpenServer 5,
               SCO OpenServer 5.0.2, SCO Internet FastStart 1.0
DAMAGE:        A user with an account on the system may be able to gain
               unauthorized root access.
SOLUTION:      See the attached SCO bulletin below for more information on
               patch availability.
______________________________________________________________________________
VULNERABILITY  Knowledge of how to exploit this vulnerability is becoming
ASSESSMENT:    widely known.
______________________________________________________________________________

CIAC has obtained information from Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. (SCO) pertaining
to the vulnerability of the kernel error handling routine.  CIAC recommends
that you install the proper patch to eliminate this problem.  



[Start of SCO Bulletin]

===========================================================================
         SCO Security Bulletin 96:001
                               June 7, 1996
                      Patch for kernel security issue
- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Santa Cruz Operation has discovered the following problem present in
our Software:

I.   Description

     A problem in a kernel error handling routine may allow unauthorized
     root access to the system.

II.  Impact

     Any user with an account on the system may be able to gain root
     access by forcibly causing a particular kernel error handling routine
     to be executed. To gain access would require that the user intentionally
     write and then execute a program to exploit this problem. Alternatively,
     a user could unintentionally allow root access by executing a program
     previously written to take advantage of the problem.

III. Releases

     This problem exists on the following releases of SCO Products:

        SCO OpenServer 5
        SCO OpenServer 5.0.2
        SCO Internet FastStart 1.0

IV. Solution

     SCO is providing the following (S)upport (L)evel (S)upplement
     to address the issue. It is recommended that all systems installed
     with one of the above releases also have SLS oss436a installed.

     SLS oss436a is available as follows:

Anonymous ftp:
- - --------------

        ftp://ftp.sco.COM/SLS/oss436a.Z         (patch disk)
        ftp://ftp.sco.COM/SLS/oss436a.ltr.Z     (cover letter/install notes)

UUCP:
- - -----

     This SLS is also available to be downloaded via UUCP from the following
     machines:

                sosco (USA)
                scolon (United Kingdom)

     The file names are:

                /usr/spool/uucppublic/SLS/oss436a.Z
                /usr/spool/uucppublic/SLS/oss436a.ltr.Z

     Telephone numbers and login names for UUCP are provided in the
     default /usr/lib/uucp/Systems file that ships with every SCO Operating
     System.

Compuserve:
- - -----------

     SLS oss436a is also available in Library 11 in the SCO Forum
     on Compuserve.

SCO Online Support (SOS) BBS:
- - -----------------------------

SLS oss436 can also be downloaded interactively via X, Y, Z MODEM or Kermit,
using the SCO Online Support System (SOS). Follow the menus selections under
"Toolchest" from the main SOS menu.

List of phone numbers available for interactive transfer from SOS are:

1-408-426-9495                  (USA)
+44 (0)1923 210 888             (United Kingdom)



Checksums:
- - ----------

MD5:

MD5 (oss436a.Z) = e1e76be4486958b64c996cd3a8a1a4ff
MD5 (oss436a.ltr.Z) = bbe35e5e4109b4f547757a37ab40f47b

sum -r:

06102    43 oss436a.Z
54199     5 oss436a.ltr.Z

Please note that these files are compressed. You must use the uncompress(C)
command on these files before following the installation instructions in
the resultant oss436a.ltr file.

If you have further questions, contact your support provider.  If you
need to contact SCO, please send electronic mail to support@sco.COM, or
contact SCO as follows.

        USA/Canada: 6am-5pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
        -----------
        1-800-347-4381  (voice)
        1-408-427-5443  (fax)

        Pacific Rim, Asia, and Latin American customers: 6am-5pm Pacific
        ------------------------------------------------ Daylight Time
                                                         (PDT)
        1-408-425-4726  (voice)
        1-408-427-5443  (fax)

        Europe, Middle East, Africa: 9am-5:30pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
        ----------------------------
        +44 (0)1923 816344 (voice)
        +44 (0)1923 817781 (fax)

[End of SCO Bulletin]

_______________________________________________________________________________

CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) for 
the information contained in this bulletin.
_______________________________________________________________________________

CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer
security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding
member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a
global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination
among computer security teams worldwide.

CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC
can be contacted at:
    Voice:    +1 510-422-8193
    FAX:      +1 510-423-8002
    STU-III:  +1 510-423-2604
    E-mail:   ciac@llnl.gov

For emergencies and off-hour assistance, DOE, DOE contractor sites,
and the NIH may contact CIAC 24-hours a day. During off hours (5PM -
8AM PST), call the CIAC voice number 510-422-8193 and leave a message,
or call 800-759-7243 (800-SKY-PAGE) to send a Sky Page. CIAC has two
Sky Page PIN numbers, the primary PIN number, 8550070, is for the CIAC
duty person, and the secondary PIN number, 8550074 is for the CIAC
Project Leader.

Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are
available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive.

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This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an
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