CVE-2011-4940: XSS
First published: Wed Mar 14 2012(Updated: )
A flaw was reported [1] in Python's SimpleHTTPServer's list_directory() function. Due to a missing charset parameter, if a user were to connect to SimpleHTTPServer using IE7, which engages in encoding-sniffing and can be tricked into interpretting the output as UTF7. Because of this, an attacker could hide <script> tags in UTF7-encoded characters which do not get quoted by cgi.encode(), allowing XSS attacks. This has been corrected upstream in version 2.6.7rc2 [2], 2.5.6c1 [3]. It may be fixed in 2.7 as well, but I was unable to find a commit to match it against. [1] <a href="http://bugs.python.org/issue11442">http://bugs.python.org/issue11442</a> [2] <a href="http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release26-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=66717&r2=88831&view=patch">http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release26-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=66717&r2=88831&view=patch</a> [3] <a href="http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release25-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=53148&r2=88815&view=patch">http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release25-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=53148&r2=88815&view=patch</a>
Credit: secalert@redhat.com
| Affected Software | Affected Version | How to fix |
|---|---|---|
| debian/python2.7 | 2.7.18-8+deb11u1 | |
| Python 2.7 | <=2.5.6 | |
| Python 2.7 | =0.9.0 | |
| Python 2.7 | =0.9.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =1.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =1.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =1.5.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =1.6 | |
| Python 2.7 | =1.6.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.0.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.1.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.1.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.1.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.2.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.2.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.2.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.4 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.5 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.3.7 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.4.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.4.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.4.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.4.4 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.4.6 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.5.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.5.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.5.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.5.4 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.2 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.3 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.4 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.5 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.6.6 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.7.1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.7.1-rc1 | |
| Python 2.7 | =2.7.2-rc1 |
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Reference Links
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=803500
- http://bugs.python.org/issue11442
- http://jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/JVNDB-2012-000063
- http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN51176027/index.html
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1596-1
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1613-2
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1613-1
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1592-1
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/54083
- http://secunia.com/advisories/51040
- http://secunia.com/advisories/50858
- http://secunia.com/advisories/51024
- https://launchpad.net/bugs/cve/CVE-2011-4940
- http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release26-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=66717&r2=88831&view=patch
- http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/release25-maint/Lib/SimpleHTTPServer.py?r1=53148&r2=88815&view=patch
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/15/1
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=808303
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=808305
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=808304
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=803500#c0
- http://svn.python.org/view?view=revision&revision=88831
- http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/e9724d7abbc2
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0744.html
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0745.html
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=835496
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/14/11
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2011-4940
- https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2011-4940
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4940
- https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2011-4940
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2011-4940?
CVE-2011-4940 has been assigned a moderate severity level due to its potential for information disclosure through improper handling of character encoding.
How do I fix CVE-2011-4940?
To remediate CVE-2011-4940, upgrade to the fixed versions of Python that include the charset parameter in the list_directory() function.
Which versions of Python are affected by CVE-2011-4940?
CVE-2011-4940 affects Python versions up to 2.5.6 and versions 2.6.x prior to patches that address this issue.
Can CVE-2011-4940 be exploited remotely?
Yes, CVE-2011-4940 can be exploited remotely if an attacker tricks users into connecting to a vulnerable SimpleHTTPServer.
What is the cause of CVE-2011-4940?
The cause of CVE-2011-4940 is a flaw in the list_directory() function of Python's SimpleHTTPServer due to a missing charset parameter.
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