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Mac OS X Long argv[] buffer overflow
From: "@stake Advisories" <advisories () atstake com>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 12:52:21 -0500
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 @stake, Inc. www.atstake.com Security Advisory Advisory Name: Long argv[] buffer overflow Release Date: 10/28/2003 Application: Mac OS X Platform: Mac OS X (10.2.8 and below) Severity: attackers can crash Mac OS X and possibly execute commands as root Author: Matt Miller <mpmiller () mac com> Dave G. <daveg () atstake com> Vendor Status: Vendor has fixed release available CVE Candidate: CAN-2003-0895 Reference: www.atstake.com/research/advisories/2003/a102803-3.txt Overview: It is possible to cause the the Mac OS X kernel to crash by specifying a long command line argument. While this primarily affects local users there may be conditions where this situation is remotely exploitable if a program which receives network input spawns another process with user input. It is possible to use this condition todump small portions of memory back to an attacker. Details:
It is possible to cause the Mac OS X kernel to crash by specifying a long command line argument. The length of the total arguments must be within a narrow range to cause this condition. When it occurs, the operating system will immediately crash, not allowing users to perform any task. No logs will be generated, nor will a kernel panic message be displayed. The machine will reboot on its own after severalminutes.
It is also possible to use this condition to dump small portions of memory back to an attacker. As far as @stake can tell, only memory addresses are being returned back to the user, which is typically not sensitive data. @stake has not fully investigated the exploitability of this attack but since it appears to be an overflow in the kernel the severity of "possibly execute commands as root" is warranted. Vendor Response: Kernel: Fixes CAN-2003-0895 where it may be possible for a local user to cause the Mac OS X kernel to crash by specifying a long command line argument. The machine will reboot on its own after several minutes. This is fixed in Mac OS X 10.3. For further information on Mac OS X 10.3, please see http://www.apple.com/macosx/ Recommendation: Upgrade to Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) Information: The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the following names to these issues. These are candidates for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems. CAN-2003-0895 Long argv[] buffer overflow @stake Vulnerability Reporting Policy: http://www.atstake.com/research/policy/ @stake Advisory Archive: http://www.atstake.com/research/advisories/ PGP Key: http://www.atstake.com/research/pgp_key.asc @stake is currently seeking application security experts to fill several consulting positions. Applicants should have strong application development skills and be able to perform application security design reviews, code reviews, and application penetration testing. Please send resumes to jobs () atstake com. Copyright 2003 @stake, Inc. All rights reserved. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 8.0 iQA/AwUBP56q50e9kNIfAm4yEQIfagCg8xEZrFfmx1FKQ85aVXs1RGuXa0oAn0Ns axaFywG9b7BnO4UdWxNynRwi =oSwI -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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