CVE-2014-4043: Code Injection

Published Jun 13, 2014
·
Updated

posixspawnfileactionsaddopen in glibc fails to copy the path argument. Per the specification (http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/000095399/functions/posixspawnfileactionsaddclose.html) it is supposed to. The result of not copying is that programs can easily trigger use-after-free bugs, or other situations where the path is mutated. The following program demonstrates this issue:

#include <string.h> #include <assert.h> #include <fcntl.h> #include <unistd.h> #include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/wait.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <spawn.h> #include <stdio.h>

extern char const environ;

int main() { int res; posixspawnfileactionst fa; posixspawnfileactionsinit(&fa);

char origpath = "/tmp/afddsa"; char path = malloc(strlen(origpath) + 1); strcpy(path, origpath); path[strlen(origpath)] = '\0';

res = posixspawnfileactionsaddopen( &fa, 1, path, OWRONLY | OCREAT, SIRUSR | SIWUSR); assert(res == 0);

memset(path, 0, strlen(origpath)); free(path);

char argv[] = {"/bin/echo", NULL}; pidt pid; res = posixspawn( &pid, "/bin/echo", &fa, NULL, argv, environ ); assert(res == 0); int status; wait4(pid, &status, 0, NULL); printf("%d\n", WEXITSTATUS(status)); }

This bug was jointly discovered by David Reid, Alex Gaynor, and Glyph Lefkowitz.

Issue is fixed in glibc 2.20: https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=glibc.git;h=89e435f3559c53084498e9baad22172b64429362 Recommended additional commit for backporting: https://sourceware.org/git/?p=glibc.git;a=commit;h=35a5e3e338ae17f3d42c6

External references:

https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/showbug.cgi?id=17048

Other sources

The posixspawnfileactionsaddopen function in glibc before 2.20 does not copy its path argument in accordance with the POSIX specification, which allows context-dependent attackers to trigger use-after-free vulnerabilities.

Affected Software

3 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/glibc<2.20
2.20
GNU glibc<=2.19
openSUSE openSUSE=13.1

Event History

Jun 13, 2014
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·02:10 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Oct 6, 2014
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:00 PM
Description

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2014-4043?

CVE-2014-4043 is classified as a medium severity vulnerability.

2

What systems are affected by CVE-2014-4043?

CVE-2014-4043 affects glibc versions up to 2.19 and specifically glibc 2.20 on Red Hat.

3

How do I fix CVE-2014-4043?

To fix CVE-2014-4043, update glibc to version 2.20 or later.

4

Can CVE-2014-4043 lead to arbitrary code execution?

CVE-2014-4043 can potentially lead to issues with file action manipulation, which may impact application security.

5

Is there a workaround for CVE-2014-4043?

There are no known effective workarounds for CVE-2014-4043; upgrading glibc is recommended.

Contact

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