[ GLSA 200701-17 ] libgtop: Privilege escalation

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: libgtop: Privilege escalation (GLSA 200701-17)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: January 23, 2007
Bug(s): #162169
ID: 200701-17

Synopsis


libgtop improperly handles filenames, possibly allowing for the execution
of arbitrary code.


Background


libgtop facilitates the libgtop_daemon, which is used by GNOME to
obtain information about remote systems.


Affected Packages

Package: gnome-base/libgtop
Vulnerable: < 2.14.6
Unaffected: >= 2.14.6
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description


Liu Qishuai discovered that glibtop_get_proc_map_s() in
sysdeps/linux/procmap.c does not properly allocate memory for storing a
filename, allowing certain filenames to cause the buffer to overflow on
the stack.


Impact


By tricking a victim into executing an application that uses the
libgtop library (e.g. libgtop_daemon or gnome-system-monitor), a local
attacker could specify a specially crafted filename to be used by
libgtop causing a buffer overflow and possibly execute arbitrary code
with the rights of the user running the application.


Workaround


There is no known workaround at this time.


Resolution


All libgtop users should upgrade to the latest version: