7.5 - USN-723-1

A security issue affects the following Ubuntu releases:

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Ubuntu 7.10 Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Ubuntu 8.10

This advisory also applies to the corresponding versions of Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and Xubuntu.

The problem can be corrected by upgrading your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS:
git-core 1.1.3-1ubuntu1.1

Ubuntu 7.10:
git-core 1:1.5.2.5-2ubuntu0.1
gitweb 1:1.5.2.5-2ubuntu0.1

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS:
git-core 1:1.5.4.3-1ubuntu2.1
gitweb 1:1.5.4.3-1ubuntu2.1

Ubuntu 8.10:
git-core 1:1.5.6.3-1.1ubuntu2.1
gitweb 1:1.5.6.3-1.1ubuntu2.1

In general, a standard system upgrade is sufficient to effect the necessary changes.

Details follow:

It was discovered that Git did not properly handle long file paths. If a user were tricked into performing commands on a specially crafted Git repository, an attacker could possibly execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user invoking the program. (CVE-2008-3546)

It was discovered that the Git web interface (gitweb) did not correctly handle shell metacharacters when processing certain commands. A remote attacker could send specially crafted commands to the Git server and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Git web server. This issue only applied to Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04 LTS. (CVE-2008-5516, CVE-2008-5517)

It was discovered that the Git web interface (gitweb) did not properly restrict the diff.external configuration parameter. A local attacker could exploit this issue and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Git web server. This issue only applied to Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and 8.10. (CVE-2008-5916)