Security Vulnerability in the w(1) Utility may Lead to Execution of Arbitrary Code

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A heap overflow vulnerability in the w(1) utility:

1. Impact

A heap overflow vulnerability in the w(1) utility may allow a local unprivileged user to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

Sun acknowledges with thanks, Monarch Rich "1c239c43f521145fa8385d64a9c32243 http://unsecurityresearch.blogspot.com" for discovering and reporting this issue.

2. Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases:

SPARC Platform

• Solaris 8 without patch 142294-01
  
• Solaris 9 without patch 113718-04
• Solaris 10 without patch 142286-01
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_123
  

x86 Platform

• Solaris 8 without patch 142295-01
• Solaris 9 without patch 113996-05
• Solaris 10 without patch 142285-01
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_123
  

Note 1: Solaris 8 entered EOSL Phase 2 on 1 April 2009. Entitlement to patches developed on or after 1 April 2009 requires the purchase of the Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service. See note in section 5 for more details..

Note 2: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes above and beyond the build from which it was derived.  To determine the base build of OpenSolaris, the following command can be used:

    $ uname -v
    snv_86

3. Symptoms

There are no predictable symptoms to indicate that this issue has been exploited to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

4. Workaround

There is no workaround for this issue.  Please see the Resolution section below.

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases:

SPARC Platform

• Solaris 8 with patch 142294-01 or later
  
• Solaris 9 with patch 113718-04 or later
• Solaris 10 with patch 142286-01 or later
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_124 or later
  

x86 Platform

• Solaris 8 with patch 142295-01 or later
• Solaris 9 with patch 113996-05 or later
• Solaris 10 with patch 142285-01 or later
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_124 or later

Note: The READMEs of Solaris 8 patches developed on or after 1 April 2009 are available to all customers. However, Solaris 8 entered EOSL Phase 2 on April 1, 2009 and thus entitlement for these patches, including those that fix security vulnerabilities, requires the purchase of the Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service. More information about the Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service is available at:

http://www.sun.com/service/eosl/Solaris8.html

For more information on Security Sun Alerts, see Technical Instruction ID 213557.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS" basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these agreements.

Copyright 2000-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 U.S.A. All rights reserved.


Modification History

02-Nov-2009: Updated Contributing Factors and Resolution sections. Resolved

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