7.5 - RHSA-2015:0104

Problem Description:

Updated ntp packages that fix several security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 Extended Update Support.

Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having Important security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Compute Node Optional EUS (v. 6.5) - noarch, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node EUS (v. 6.5) - x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.5) - i386, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 6.5) - i386, noarch, ppc64, s390x, x86_64

3. Description:

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize a computer's time with a referenced time source.

Multiple buffer overflow flaws were discovered in ntpd's crypto_recv(), ctl_putdata(), and configure() functions. A remote attacker could use either of these flaws to send a specially crafted request packet that could crash ntpd or, potentially, execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the ntp user. Note: the crypto_recv() flaw requires non-default configurations to be active, while the ctl_putdata() flaw, by default, can only be exploited via local attackers, and the configure() flaw requires additional authentication to exploit. (CVE-2014-9295)

It was found that ntpd automatically generated weak keys for its internal use if no ntpdc request authentication key was specified in the ntp.conf configuration file. A remote attacker able to match the configured IP restrictions could guess the generated key, and possibly use it to send ntpdc query or configuration requests. (CVE-2014-9293)

It was found that ntp-keygen used a weak method for generating MD5 keys. This could possibly allow an attacker to guess generated MD5 keys that could then be used to spoof an NTP client or server. Note: it is recommended to regenerate any MD5 keys that had explicitly been generated with ntp-keygen; the default installation does not contain such keys. (CVE-2014-9294)

A missing return statement in the receive() function could potentially allow a remote attacker to bypass NTP's authentication mechanism. (CVE-2014-9296)

All ntp users are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which contains backported patches to resolve these issues. After installing the update, the ntpd daemon will restart automatically.

4. Solution:

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

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

5. Bugs fixed (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

1176032 - CVE-2014-9293 ntp: automatic generation of weak default key in config_auth() 1176035 - CVE-2014-9294 ntp: ntp-keygen uses weak random number generator and seed when generating MD5 keys 1176037 - CVE-2014-9295 ntp: Multiple buffer overflows via specially-crafted packets 1176040 - CVE-2014-9296 ntp: receive() missing return on error