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-200701-06] w3m: Format string vulnerability

Vulnerability Assessment Details

[GLSA-200701-06] w3m: Format string vulnerability

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
w3m: Format string vulnerability

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment
The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-200701-06
(w3m: Format string vulnerability)

w3m in -dump or -backend mode does not correctly handle printf() format
string specifiers in the Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 SSL
certificate.

Impact

A possible hacker could entice a user to visit a malicious website that would
load a specially crafted X.509 SSL certificate containing "%n" or other
format string specifiers, possibly resulting in the execution of
arbitrary code with the rights of the user running w3m.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

References:
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-6772

Solution:
All w3m users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=www-client/w3m-0.5.1-r4"

Network Security Threat Level: Medium

Networks Security ID:

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: (C) 2007 Michel Arboi

Cables, Connectors