FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

BID:1849

Info

FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

Bugtraq ID: 1849
Class: Access Validation Error
CVE:
Remote: Unknown
Local: Yes
Published: Oct 20 2000 12:00AM
Updated: Oct 20 2000 12:00AM
Credit: This vulnerability was discovered and first published by Sergey Nenashev <[email protected]> October 24, 2000.
Vulnerable: FreeBSD FreeBSD 4.1
FreeBSD FreeBSD 4.0
FreeBSD FreeBSD 3.3
FreeBSD FreeBSD 2.2.8
Not Vulnerable: Sun Solaris 2.5.1
Sun Solaris 8_sparc
Sun Solaris 7.0
Sun Solaris 2.6
Slackware Linux 7.0
Slackware Linux 4.0
NetBSD NetBSD 1.4.2
NetBSD NetBSD 1.4.1
NetBSD NetBSD 1.4
IBM AIX 4.2

Discussion

FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

crontab is part of the cron command scheduling package included with FreeBSD. A vulnerability exists in this package that allows users to read certain system files.

When crontab is executed with the -e argument, it calls the vi editor for text file entry and creates a file in the /tmp directory with ownership of the user executing crontab. While in vi, a malicous user may escape to a shell and create a symbolic link to any system file. Upon exiting the shell and quitting the vi editor, cron reads the contents of the file symbolically linked. In the case of a file that either begins with a pound (#) sign or is completely commented out and is formatted in a scheme similar to that of a crontab, cron will return this content to the standard output of the user.

Exploit / POC

FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

Currently the SecurityFocus staff are not aware of any exploits for this issue. If you feel we are in error or are aware of more recent information, please mail us at: [email protected]

Solution / Fix

FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

Solution:
Currently the SecurityFocus staff are not ware of any vendor supplied patches for this issue. If you feel we are in error or are aware of more recent information, please mail us at: [email protected].

References

FreeBSD crontab /tmp File Vulnerability

References:
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