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Home >> Browse Vulnerability Assessment Database >> Debian Local Security Checks >> [DSA042] DSA-042-1 gnuserv

Vulnerability Assessment Details

[DSA042] DSA-042-1 gnuserv

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
DSA-042-1 gnuserv

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment
Klaus Frank has found a vulnerability in the way gnuserv
handled remote connections. Gnuserv is a remote control facility for Emacsen
which is available as standalone program as well as included in XEmacs21.
Gnuserv has a buffer for which insufficient boundary checks were made.
Unfortunately this buffer affected access control to gnuserv which is using a
MIT-MAGIC-COOCKIE based system. It is possible to overflow the buffer
containing the cookie and foozle cookie comparison.

Gnuserv was derived from emacsserver which is part of GNU Emacs. It was
reworked completely and not much is left over from its time as part of
GNU Emacs. Therefore the versions of emacsserver in both Emacs19 and Emacs20
doesn't look vulnerable to this bug, they don't even provide a MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE
based mechanism.

This could lead into a remote user issue commands under the UID of the
person running gnuserv.

Solution : http://www.debian.org/security/2001/dsa-042
Network Security Threat Level: High

Networks Security ID: 2333

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: This script is (C) 2005 Michel Arboi

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