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Bugtraq archives for 2nd quarter (Mar-Jun) 1997: svgalib/zgv

svgalib/zgv

ksrt (ksrtDEC.NET)
Thu, 19 Jun 1997 14:15:42 -0700 

                                                          KSR[T] Advisory #001
                                                          Date:  June 09, 1997
                                                          ID #:  lin-svga-001

Operating System(s): Redhat Linux 3.0.3 - 4.1 / Any Linux with zgv setuid root.

Affected Program:    svgalib/zgv-2.7 ( an svgalib GIF/JPG viewer )

Problem Description: svgalib 1.2.10 and below do not properly revoke
                     privileges, and through the use of saved user ids,
                     any svgalib application may still be vulnerable to
                     buffer overruns(stack overwrites).

                     zgv will take data from an environment variable (HOME),
                     and copies the entire length of the envirnment variable
                     into an automatic character buffer.  The result is that
                     arbitrary code may be executed as root.  There are also
                     overflows on the command line and through stdin.

Compromise:          With zgv, the consequences are minimal, as only a user
                     who has access to the console can exploit this hole.
                     However, most svgalib applications are poorly written
                     from a security standpoint and the potential compromise
                     may be greater with other applications.

Patch/Fix:           svgalib-1.2.11 will address this security issue.  Look
                     for our upcoming paper on vulnerabilities in svgalib
                     that will explain proper programming methods and other
                     potential problems with svgalib applications.


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Please note that this was not a full audit of zgv, and there may be other
security problems related to zgv.

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