Vulnerability Assessment & Network Security Forums

If through a vulnerability assessment, a network security issue is detected for the vulnerability below, applying the appropriate security patches in a timely matter is very important. If you have detected that your system has already been compromised, following CERT's Network Security recovery document will assist with recommended steps for system recovery.

Home >> Browse Vulnerability Assessment Database >> Gentoo Local Security Checks >> [GLSA-200509-17] Webmin, Usermin: Remote code execution through PAM authentication

Vulnerability Assessment Details

[GLSA-200509-17] Webmin, Usermin: Remote code execution through PAM authentication

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
Webmin, Usermin: Remote code execution through PAM authentication

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment
The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-200509-17
(Webmin, Usermin: Remote code execution through PAM authentication)

Keigo Yamazaki discovered that the miniserv.pl webserver, used in
both Webmin and Usermin, does not properly validate authentication
credentials before sending them to the PAM (Pluggable Authentication
Modules) authentication process. The default configuration shipped with
Gentoo does not enable the "full PAM conversations" option and is
therefore unaffected by this flaw.

Impact

A remote attacker could bypass the authentication process and run
any command as the root user on the target server.

Workaround

Do not enable "full PAM conversations" in the Authentication
options of Webmin and Usermin.

References:
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2005-3042
http://www.lac.co.jp/business/sns/intelligence/SNSadvisory_e/83_e.html

Solution:
All Webmin users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=app-admin/webmin-1.230"
All Usermin users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=app-admin/usermin-1.160"

Network Security Threat Level: High

Networks Security ID:

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: (C) 2005 Michel Arboi

Cables, Connectors