7.5 - RHSA-2005:037

Problem Description:

Updated Ethereal packages that fix various security vulnerabilities are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

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

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

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:

Ethereal is a program for monitoring network traffic.

A number of security flaws have been discovered in Ethereal. On a system where Ethereal is running, a remote attacker could send malicious packets to trigger these flaws.

A flaw in the DICOM dissector could cause a crash. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1139 to this issue.

A invalid RTP timestamp could hang Ethereal and create a large temporary file, possibly filling available disk space. (CAN-2004-1140)

The HTTP dissector could access previously-freed memory, causing a crash. (CAN-2004-1141)

An improperly formatted SMB packet could make Ethereal hang, maximizing CPU utilization. (CAN-2004-1142)

The COPS dissector could go into an infinite loop. (CAN-2005-0006)

The DLSw dissector could cause an assertion, making Ethereal exit prematurely. (CAN-2005-0007)

The DNP dissector could cause memory corruption. (CAN-2005-0008)

The Gnutella dissector could cause an assertion, making Ethereal exit prematurely. (CAN-2005-0009)

The MMSE dissector could free static memory, causing a crash. (CAN-2005-0010)

The X11 protocol dissector is vulnerable to a string buffer overflow. (CAN-2005-0084)

Users of Ethereal should upgrade to these updated packages which contain version 0.10.9 that is not vulnerable to 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/):

144188 - CAN-2004-1139 Ethereal flaws (CAN-2004-1140 CAN-2004-1141 CAN-2004-1142) 145483 - CAN-2005-0006 multiple ethereal issues (CAN-2005-0007 CAN-2005-0008 CAN-2005-0009 CAN-2005-0010 CAN-2005-0084)