[RHSA-2012:1149-01] Moderate: sudo security and bug fix update

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Red Hat Security Advisory

 

Synopsis: Moderate: sudo security and bug fix update

Advisory ID: RHSA-2012:1149-01

Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Advisory URL: https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1149.html

Issue date: 2012-08-07

CVE Names: CVE-2012-3440

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1. Summary:

 

An updated sudo package that fixes one security issue and several bugs is

now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

 

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate

security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score,

which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in

the References section.

 

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) - i386, ia64, ppc, s390x, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) - i386, x86_64

 

3. Description:

 

The sudo (superuser do) utility allows system administrators to give

certain users the ability to run commands as root.

 

An insecure temporary file use flaw was found in the sudo package's

post-uninstall script. A local attacker could possibly use this flaw to

overwrite an arbitrary file via a symbolic link attack, or modify the

contents of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file during the upgrade or removal of

the sudo package. (CVE-2012-3440)

 

This update also fixes the following bugs:

 

* Previously, sudo escaped non-alphanumeric characters in commands using

"sudo -s" or "sudo -" at the wrong place and interfered with the

authorization process. Some valid commands were not permitted. Now,

non-alphanumeric characters escape immediately before the command is

executed and no longer interfere with the authorization process.

(BZ#844418)

 

* Prior to this update, the sudo utility could, under certain

circumstances, fail to receive the SIGCHLD signal when it was executed

from a process that blocked the SIGCHLD signal. As a consequence, sudo

could become suspended and fail to exit. This update modifies the signal

process mask so that sudo can exit and sends the correct output.

(BZ#844419)

 

* The sudo update RHSA-2012:0309 introduced a regression that caused the

Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) context of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file

to change during the installation or upgrade of the sudo package. This

could cause various services confined by SELinux to no longer be permitted

to access the file. In reported cases, this issue prevented PostgreSQL and

Postfix from starting. (BZ#842759)

 

* Up[censored] the sudo package resulted in the "sudoers" line in

"/etc/nsswitch.conf" being removed. This update corrects the bug in the

sudo package's post-uninstall script that caused this issue. (BZ#844420)

 

* Prior to this update, a race condition bug existed in sudo. When a

program was executed with sudo, the program could possibly exit

successfully before sudo started waiting for it. In this situation, the

program would be left in a zombie state and sudo would wait for it

endlessly, expecting it to still be running. (BZ#844978)

 

All users of sudo are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which

contains backported patches to correct these issues.

 

4. Solution:

 

Before applying this update, make sure all previously-released errata

relevant to your system have been applied.

 

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to

use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at

https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/11258

 

5. Bugs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

 

842759 - selinux blocks postgresql startup

844420 - sudo 1.7.2p1-14.el5_8 removed sudoers line from nsswitch.conf

844442 - CVE-2012-3440 sudo: insecure temporary file use in RPM %postun script

844978 - Sudo has racecondition leaving sudo with its zombie child running forever

 

6. Package List:

 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client):

 

Source:

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Client/en/os/SRPMS/sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.src.rpm

 

i386:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.i386.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.i386.rpm

 

x86_64:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.x86_64.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.x86_64.rpm

 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server):

 

Source:

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Server/en/os/SRPMS/sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.src.rpm

 

i386:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.i386.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.i386.rpm

 

ia64:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.ia64.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.ia64.rpm

 

ppc:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.ppc.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.ppc.rpm

 

s390x:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.s390x.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.s390x.rpm

 

x86_64:

sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.x86_64.rpm

sudo-debuginfo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.x86_64.rpm

 

These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat for security. Our key and

details on how to verify the signature are available from

https://access.redhat.com/security/team/key/#package

 

7. References:

 

https://www.redhat.com/security/data/cve/CVE-2012-3440.html

https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#moderate

https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0309.html

 

8. Contact:

 

The Red Hat security contact is . More contact

details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/

 

Copyright 2012 Red Hat, Inc.

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