[NEWS] Cisco Solaris /bin/log Vulnerability

From: support@securiteam.com
Date: 04/11/02 

From: support@securiteam.com
To: list@securiteam.com
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 00:05:23 +0200 (CEST)

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  Cisco Solaris /bin/log Vulnerability
------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY

This advisory describes a vulnerability that affects Cisco products and
applications that are installed on the Solaris operating system, and is
based on the vulnerability of an common service within the Solaris
operating system, not due to a defect of the Cisco product or application.
A vulnerability in the "/bin/login" program was discovered that enables an
attacker to execute arbitrary code under Solaris OS. This vulnerability
was discovered and publicly announced by Internet Security Systems Inc.
All Cisco products and applications that are installed on Solaris OS are
considered vulnerable to the underlying operating system vulnerability,
unless steps have been taken to disable access services such as
"bin/login".

This vulnerability can be mitigated in many cases (not all), by limiting
interactive logins to trusted hosts using access control list (ACL) or
other mechanisms such as firewalls.

DETAILS

Affected Products:
All products and all releases that are running on top of Solaris OS are
vulnerable because the vulnerability is within Solaris and not within the
other applications.

Product not affected:
 * PGW2200 release 9.2(2) running on Solaris 2.8 is not affected. The
installation CD set contains the package CSCOh015, version 2.0.1, that
includes the patch for this issue.

The following products are affected:
Media Gateway Controller (MGC) and Related Products

 * Products running on Solaris 2.5.1 are vulnerable unless CSCOh008.pkg
release 1.0(8) has been installed. The product that is based on this
version of Solaris is Signaling Controller 2200 (SC2200).

 * Products running on Solaris 2.6 are vulnerable unless CSCOh007.pkg
release 1.0(7) has been installed. The products that are based on this
version of Solaris are:

   * SC2200
   * Cisco Virtual Switch Controller (VSC3000)
   * Cisco PGW2200 Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Gateway
   * Cisco Billing and Management Server (BAMS)
   * Cisco Voice Services Provisioning Tool (VSPT)

Cisco IDS
All releases of Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System (IDS, formerly
Netranger) up to, but excluding, 3.0(5)Sx, where "5" is the Service Pack
and not the Signature Update field.

Other Cisco software applications may run on Solaris platforms and where
those products have not specifically been identified, customers should
install security patches regularly in accordance with their normal
maintenance procedures.

Details:
All implementations of the "login" program (also known as "/bin/login" due
to its location on the file system) derived from the SysV implementation
are vulnerable to a buffer overflow. This vulnerability can be exploited
to gain unauthorized access to a computer system without possessing
legitimate credentials. The only prerequisite for exploiting this
vulnerability is to have Telnet or other remote login access to the
computer because there are multiple ways to access a computer remotely.
Telnet, rlogin, rsh, SSH, and X term are the most commonly known methods.
This vulnerability can be exploited locally and remotely.

Impact:
By gaining unauthorized access, an attacker can view and modify any part
of the operating system possibly leading to a breach of confidentiality
and integrity of the system.

Software Versions and Fixes:
MGC and Related Products
 * For the SC2200, the package CSCOh008.pkg release 1.0(8) contains the
fix. The installation instruction is included within the package.

 * For the products based on Solaris 2.6, the package CSCOh007.pkg release
1.0(7), or higher, contains the fix. The installation instruction is
included within the package. This is applicable to the following products:

   * SC2200
   * VSC3000
   * PGW2200 PSTN Gateway
   * BAMS
   * VSPT

Both packages are available at
<http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/mgc-sol>
http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/mgc-sol . To use that link, you
must be a registered user and you must be logged in.

For all MGC and related products, you may also consult "Cisco Security
Advisory: Hardening of Solaris OS for MGC" located at
<http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/Solaris-for-MGC-pub.shtml>
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/Solaris-for-MGC-pub.shtml.

Cisco IDS
For IDS, release 3.0(5) is the first fixed release. The fixed software can
be downloaded from
<http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/ids-appsens>
http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/ids-appsens. In order to use
that link, you must be a registered user and you must be logged in.

Obtaining Fixed Software:
Cisco is offering free software upgrades to eliminate this vulnerability
for all affected customers.

Customers with contracts should obtain upgraded software through their
regular update channels. For most customers, this means that upgrades
should be obtained through the Software Center on Cisco's worldwide
website at <http://www.cisco.com> http://www.cisco.com.

Customers whose Cisco products are provided or maintained through prior or
existing agreement with third-party support organizations such as Cisco
Partners, authorized resellers, or service providers should contact that
support organization for assistance with the upgrade, which should be free
of charge.

Customers who purchase direct from Cisco but who do not hold a Cisco
service contract and customers who purchase through third party vendors
but are unsuccessful at obtaining fixed software through their point of
sale should get their upgrades by contacting the Cisco Technical
Assistance Center (TAC). TAC contacts are as follows:

 * +1 800 553 2447 (toll-free from within North America)
 * +1 408 526 7209 (toll call from anywhere in the world)
 * e-mail: tac@cisco.com

Please have your product serial number available and give the URL of this
notice as evidence of your entitlement to a free upgrade. Free upgrades
for non-contract customers must be requested through the TAC.

Please do not contact either "psirt@cisco.com" or
"security-alert@cisco.com" for software upgrades.

Workarounds:
There is no workaround for MGC and related products.

For IDS, it is possible to mitigate the exposure by limiting hosts that
can Telnet to IDS. This procedure is described at:
 
<http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/iaabu/csids/csids6/12216_02.htm#xtocid1115811> http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/iaabu/csids/csids6/12216_02.htm#xtocid1115811

In short, the user must login to the IDS machine as root, type
sysconfig-sensor at the prompt, select option 5, and enter the hosts
allowed to Telnet to the sensor.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The information has been provided by <mailto:psirt@cisco.com> Cisco
Systems Product Security Incident Response Team.

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