REDHAT-BUG-1280543: Race Condition

Published Nov 12, 2015
·
Updated

Description of problem: aRts and kdelibs3 each use their own copy of the same "lnusertemp" code to create a user-specific socket directory for IPC. If the usual location, which is well-known, is unavailable, a random directory name is created with mktemp(3). A malicious process could therefore create the well-known location to force the race condition inherit in mktemp(3), and then potentially beat it in order to hijack the IPC of aRts and/or KDE.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): arts-1.5.10-26.fc22.x8664 kdelibs3-3.5.10-68.fc22.x8664 (I believe all versions of Fedora are affected, as well as RHEL 5 and 6)

Steps to Reproduce: (Warning: Do NOT try this during a KDE session!) 0. KSOCKETDIR=/tmp/ksocket-id -un 1. rm -f ~/.kde/socket-$HOSTNAME # (not strictly necessary but does cause this to be logged with 'artsd -l 0') 2. rm -fr $KSOCKETDIR && touch $KSOCKETDIR OR: su -c "mkdir -m 0700 $KSOCKETDIR" [OTHERUSER] 3. artsd -l 0 -a alsa OR: kdeinit OR: lnusertemp socket

Actual results: A ${KSOCKETDIR}XXXXXX directory is created by mktemp(3), with all the usual implications, then symlinked to ~/.kde/socket-$HOSTNAME.

Expected results: mkdtemp(3) should be used to create the fallback socket directory instead of mktemp(3).

Additional info: This was fixed upstream in commit cc5515ed7ce8884c9b18169158ba29ab2f7a3db7 (together with a bunch of unrelated changes) during the Qt3->4 porting phase, so kdelibs-4.x should never have been affected by itself. However, if the socket directory is created first by aRts or KDE3, as long as it exists it would also be used by KDE4 processes.

The relevant part of said commit should backport easily to both arts (mcop/mcoputils.cc) and kdelibs3 (kinit/lnusertemp.c):

https://quickgit.kde.org/?p=kdelibs.git&a=blobdiff&h=8c0f6401271c495c68e340e06b09239eb755ce5e&hp=45b72f0d5c3421b571e9515497352a0a9942a075&hb=cc5515ed7ce8884c9b18169158ba29ab2f7a3db7&f=kinit%2Flnusertemp.c

Affected Software

4 affected components
KDE Arts
KDE kdelibs3
Fedora Fedora<=any
Red Hat RHEL>=5<=6

Event History

Nov 12, 2015
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·03:06 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-1280543?

The severity of REDHAT-BUG-1280543 has not been explicitly categorized but involves potential vulnerabilities in IPC socket directory creation.

2

How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-1280543?

To fix REDHAT-BUG-1280543, you should update to the latest versions of KDE aRts and kdelibs3 that address this vulnerability.

3

Which software is affected by REDHAT-BUG-1280543?

REDHAT-BUG-1280543 affects KDE aRts, KDE kdelibs3, and certain versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora.

4

What is the potential impact of REDHAT-BUG-1280543?

The potential impact of REDHAT-BUG-1280543 could allow a malicious process to exploit user-specific socket directory creation, leading to unauthorized access.

5

Is there a workaround for REDHAT-BUG-1280543 until a patch is applied?

As of now, there is no specific workaround provided for REDHAT-BUG-1280543, so it is recommended to apply updates promptly.

Contact

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