TUCoPS :: SunOS/Solaris :: n-091.txt

Sun Cobalt PHP SafeMode Vulnerability (CIAC N-091)

             __________________________________________________________

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

                             INFORMATION BULLETIN

                     Sun Cobalt PHP SafeMode Vulnerability
                             [Sun Alert ID: 46724]

May 7, 2003 18:00 GMT                                             Number N-091
______________________________________________________________________________
PROBLEM:       Sun has identified a vulnerability in PHP SafeMode with the 
               privileges of the HTTP process. The HTTP process normally runs 
               as the unprivileged uid 'nobody' (uid 60001). 
PLATFORM:      Sun Cobalt RaQs and Qubes 
DAMAGE:        Exploiting this vulnerability could allow local or remote 
               attackers the ability to execute arbitrary code. 
SOLUTION:      Apply available patches. 
______________________________________________________________________________
VULNERABILITY  The risk is HIGH. PHP 4.0.5 through 4.1.0 in safe mode does not 
ASSESSMENT:    properly cleanse the 5th parameter to the mail() function, 
               which allows local users and possibly remote attackers to 
               execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters. 
______________________________________________________________________________
LINKS: 
 CIAC BULLETIN:      http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/n-091.shtml 
 ORIGINAL BULLETIN:  http://sunsolve.sun.com/pub-cgi/retrieve.pl?doc=fsalert%
                        2F46724&zone_32=category%3Asecurity 
 PATCHES:            http://sunsolve.sun.com/cobalt/ 
                     http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raq4/eng/RaQ4-All-
                        Security-2.0.1-15959.pkg 
                     http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/qube3/ml/Qube3-All-
                        Security-4.0.1-15959.pkg 
                     http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raq550/all/RaQ550-
                        All-Security-0.0.1-15959.pkg 
                     http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raqxtr/eng/RaQXTR-
                        All-Security-1.0.1-15959.pkg 
                     ftp://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/products/sunlinux/5.0/en/
                        updates/i386/update_5_0_3/ 
______________________________________________________________________________
[***** Start Sun Alert ID: 46724 *****]


Sun(sm) Alert Notification 

Sun Alert ID: 46724 
Synopsis: The PHP on Sun/Cobalt Platforms Have Exploitable Vulnerabilities 
Category: Security 
Product: Sun Cobalt RaQs and Qubes 
BugIDs: 15959 
Avoidance: Workaround, Patch 
State: Resolved 
Date Released: 28-Aug-2002, 06-May-2003 
Date Closed: 06-May-2003 
Date Modified: 06-May-2003 


1. Impact 

A local or remote unprivileged user may be able to execute arbitrary code on Sun Cobalt 
systems due to a vulnerability in PHP SafeMode with the privileges of the HTTP process. 
The HTTP process normally runs as the unprivileged uid 'nobody' (uid 60001). In order 
for a remote unprivileged user to exploit this issue, the existing PHP pages must use a 
variable as the fifth parameter in the mail() command. The ability to execute arbitrary 
code as the unprivileged uid 'nobody' may lead to modified Web content, denial of 
service, or further compromise. 

Please see the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project at http://cve.mitre.org and 
reference CAN-2001-1246 at http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2001-1246. 
An additional reference is http://www.iss.net/security_center/static/6787.php. 


2. Contributing Factors 

This issue can occur in the following releases: 

2800 Workgroup NTT/KOBE(2800WGJ-KOBE) 

mod_php3-3.0.7-1C3j.mips.rpm 
mod_php3-doc-3.0.7-1C3j.mips.rpm
 
RaQ4 no raid(3001R) 

php-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 
RaQ4 Japanese no raid(3001R-ja) 
php-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 

RaQ4 RAID(3100R) 

php-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 

RaQ4 Japanese RAID(3100R-ja) 

php-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C1.i386.rpm 

RaQ XTR(3500R) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1r5.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1r5.i386.rpm 

RaQ XTR Japanese(3500R-ja) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1r5.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1r5.i386.rpm 

Qube3(4000WG) 

php-4.0.1-C7q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C5q3.i386.rpm 

Qube 3 Japanese(4000WGJ) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 

Qube3 w/ Caching(4010WG) 

php-4.0.1-C7q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C5q3.i386.rpm 

Qube3 Japanese w/ Caching(4010WGJ) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 

Control Station Production(4100CS) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1r6.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1r6.i386.rpm 

RaQ 550 (4100R) 

php-devel-4.0.6-C4.i386.rpm 
php-4.0.6-C4.i386.rpm 

Qube3 w/ Caching and RAID(4100WG) 

php-4.0.1-C7q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.1-C5q3.i386.rpm 

Qube3 Japanese w/ Caching and RAID(4100WGJ) 

php-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.3pl1-C1q3.i386.rpm 

Sun LX50 (Sun Linux 5.0) 

php-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-devel-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-imap-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-ldap-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-mysql-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-odbc-4.0.6-12.i386.rpm 
php-manual-4.0.6-12.noarch.rpm 

Notes: PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language commonly used with Apache. PHP 
versions 4.0.5 through 4.1.0 in safe mode do not properly cleanse the 5th parameter to 
the mail() function. This vulnerability allows local users and possibly remote attackers 
to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters. 


3. Symptoms 

Unusual entries in the web server logs could indicate that someone is attempting to gain 
entry through this issue. Any abnormal and/or unauthorized system activity, including, 
but not limited to, defaced web pages, unknown user accounts appearing on the system, 
and abnormal network traffic or listening TCP/UDP ports. 


Solution Summary Top 

4. Relief/Workaround 

Until fixes for these vulnerabilities can be applied, disable all applications (as 
mentioned above in Contributing Factors) that use vulnerable implementations of PHP. 

5. Resolution 

This issue is addressed in the following releases: 

Cobalt platform 

Patches are available for all affected Cobalt platforms at: 
http://sunsolve.sun.com/cobalt/. 

For RaQ 4: 

http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raq4/eng/RaQ4-All-Security-2.0.1-15959.pkg 

Qube 3: 

http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/qube3/ml/Qube3-All-Security-4.0.1-15959.pkg 

RaQ 550: 

http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raq550/all/RaQ550-All-Security-0.0.1-15959.pkg 

RaQ XTR: 

http://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/packages/raqxtr/eng/RaQXTR-All-Security-1.0.1-15959.pkg 

Sun LX50 (Sun Linux 5.0): 

ftp://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/products/sunlinux/5.0/en/updates/i386/update_5_0_3/ 


Change History 
06-May-2003: 

State: Resolved 
Updated Resolution section 

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[***** End Sun Alert ID: 46724 *****]
_______________________________________________________________________________

CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Sun Microsystems 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
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