CVE-2016-4980: Low severity ethz xquest vulnerability
A password generation weakness exists in xquest through 2016-06-13.
Other sources
Kurt Seifried of Red Hat reports:
The xguest rpm creates a user and sets a password using the following rpm postinstall script:
head -1 /dev/urandom | passwd xguest --stdin > /dev/null
this can lead to insufficient randomness being used (in testing with head -n 1 /dev/urandom | wc -c it took an average of 10 attempts to get only 2 characters out). This password is required due to GDM requiring a password for automated passwordless logins at the console.
A better method would be to use a tool such as openssl to get a guaranteed amount of entropy to create the password.
Additionally this password needs to be unique per instance or install but this value is created at install-time and not during the first run. All container and image instances created would share the same password as this password is set at rpm install time, and each instance should recieve a unique password.
This bug is being file because Product Security considers "first run problems" to be bugs with the source package and with the container or image only in the aggregate. This view is in collaboration with upstream Fedora. See: https://fedorahosted.org/fpc/ticket/506
The recommended resolution for services is to follow the "First-time Service Setup" pattern (see: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:InitialServiceSetup ). Other packages may should use a runtime check and generation or similar procedure.
— Red Hat
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2016-4980?
CVE-2016-4980 has been rated as having a moderate severity due to its potential to expose user passwords.
How do I fix CVE-2016-4980?
To fix CVE-2016-4980, upgrade to a version of xquest released after June 13, 2016 that addresses the password generation weakness.
What systems are affected by CVE-2016-4980?
CVE-2016-4980 affects xquest versions through 2016-06-13, Fedora 23, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 6.0 and 7.0.
What is the root cause of CVE-2016-4980?
The root cause of CVE-2016-4980 is inadequate randomness in the password generation process implemented in the xguest RPM post-install script.
Can CVE-2016-4980 lead to password-related attacks?
Yes, CVE-2016-4980 can potentially lead to password-related attacks due to predictable passwords being generated.