REDHAT-BUG-552483: High severity Pidgin libpurple vulnerability
On 26C3, Fabian Yamaguchi presented a directory traversal flaw in libpurple MSN protocol implementation. The flaw can be used by the remote attacker to download arbitrary file readable by the user running instant messenger using libpurple (such as pidgin) from the victim's computer via MSN emoticon / smiley download request. More details in Fabian's presentation:
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3596.en.html http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/attachments/148326c3ipv4fuckups.pdf (slides 10-22)
Upstream fix: http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/c64a1adc8bda2b4aeaae1f273541afbc4f71b810
which depends on the other two commits: http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/4be2df4f72bd8a55cdae7f2554b73342a497c92f http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/3d02401cf232459fc80c0837d31e05fae7ae5467
References: http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.security.oss.general/2462
Mitigations: Remove ~/.purple/customsmiley/ directory if it exists. The directory is not created by default and is created when first custom smiley is defined.
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-552483?
The severity of REDHAT-BUG-552483 is considered high due to its potential for remote exploitation and arbitrary file access.
How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-552483?
To fix REDHAT-BUG-552483, update to the latest version of libpurple or Pidgin where the vulnerability has been patched.
What type of vulnerability is REDHAT-BUG-552483?
REDHAT-BUG-552483 is a directory traversal flaw in the MSN protocol implementation of libpurple.
Who is affected by REDHAT-BUG-552483?
Anyone using the affected versions of libpurple or Pidgin for instant messaging could be impacted by REDHAT-BUG-552483.
What is the potential impact of REDHAT-BUG-552483?
The potential impact of REDHAT-BUG-552483 includes unauthorized access to and download of sensitive files from the victim's computer.