9.3 - RHSA-2005:013

Problem Description:

Updated CUPS packages that fix several security issues are now available.

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

3. Problem description:

The Common UNIX Printing System provides a portable printing layer for UNIX(R) operating systems.

A buffer overflow was found in the CUPS pdftops filter, which uses code from the Xpdf package. An attacker who has the ability to send a malicious PDF file to a printer could possibly execute arbitrary code as the "lp" user. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1125 to this issue.

A buffer overflow was found in the ParseCommand function in the hpgltops program. An attacker who has the ability to send a malicious HPGL file to a printer could possibly execute arbitrary code as the "lp" user. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1267 to this issue.

Red Hat believes that the Exec-Shield technology (enabled by default since Update 3) will block attempts to exploit these buffer overflow vulnerabilities on x86 architectures.

The lppasswd utility ignores write errors when modifying the CUPS passwd file. A local user who is able to fill the associated file system could corrupt the CUPS password file or prevent future uses of lppasswd. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the names CAN-2004-1268 and CAN-2004-1269 to these issues.

The lppasswd utility does not verify that the passwd.new file is different from STDERR, which could allow local users to control output to passwd.new via certain user input that triggers an error message. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1270 to this issue.

In addition to these security issues, two other problems not relating to security have been fixed:

Resuming a job with "lp -H resume", which had previously been held with "lp - -H hold" could cause the scheduler to stop. This has been fixed in later versions of CUPS, and has been backported in these updated packages.

The cancel-cups(1) man page is a symbolic link to another man page. The target of this link has been corrected.

All users of cups should upgrade to these updated packages, which resolve these issues.

4. Solution:

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat Network to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat Update Agent, use the following command:

up2date

For information on how to install packages manually, refer to the following Web page for the System Administration or Customization guide specific to your system:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/

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

136973 - cancel-cups man page missing from errata package 143087 - CAN-2004-1267 Bernstein cups issues (CAN-2004-1268 CAN-2004-1269 CAN-2004-1270) 143566 - CAN-2004-1125 xpdf buffer overflow