7.5 - RHSA-2006:0713

Problem Description:

Updated Python packages are now available to correct a security issue in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3 - i386, ia64, ppc, s390, s390x, x86_64 Red Hat Desktop version 3 - i386, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3 - i386, ia64, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 3 - i386, ia64, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4 - i386, ia64, ppc, s390, s390x, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4 - i386, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4 - i386, ia64, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4 - i386, ia64, x86_64

3. Problem description:

Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language.

A flaw was discovered in the way that the Python repr() function handled UTF-32/UCS-4 strings. If an application written in Python used the repr() function on untrusted data, this could lead to a denial of service or possibly allow the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the Python application. (CVE-2006-4980)

In addition, this errata fixes a regression in the SimpleXMLRPCServer backport for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 that was introduced with RHSA-2005:109.

Users of Python should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue.

4. Solution:

Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. To use Red Hat Network, launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate RPMs being upgraded on your system.

5. Bug IDs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

160418 - Error in RHEL3-U4-errata python python-2.2-xmlfix.patch 208162 - CVE-2006-4980 repr unicode buffer overflow