__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Security Vulnerability in How xscreensaver(1) Interacts with GNOME Assistive Technology [Sun Alert ID: 102834] June 6, 2007 16:00 GMT Number R-266 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: If GNOME Assistive Technology support has been enabled on a system and a local user locks the terminal using xcreensaver(1) then it may be possisble for an individual with physical access to the system to be able to execute arbitrary commands on the system with the privileges of the user running xscreensaver(1). PLATFORM: SPARC Platform Solaris 10 without patch 120094-11 x86 Platform Solaris 10 without patch 120095-11 DAMAGE: May allow arbitrary command execution. SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is LOW. May allow arbitrary command execution. ASSESSMENT: ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/r-266.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1 -26-102834-1 ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start Sun Alert ID: 102834 *****] Sun(sm) Alert Notification Sun Alert ID: 102834 Synopsis: A Security Vulnerability in How xscreensaver(1) Interacts With GNOME Assistive Technology May Allow Arbitrary Command Execution Category: Security Product: Solaris 10 Operating System BugIDs: 6461887 Avoidance: Patch, Workaround State: Resolved Date Released: 04-Jun-2007 Date Closed: 04-Jun-2007 Date Modified: 1. Impact If GNOME Assistive Technology support has been enabled on a system and a local user locks the terminal using xscreensaver(1) then it may be possible for an individual with physical access to the system to be able to execute arbitrary commands on the system with the privileges of the user running xscreensaver(1). 2. Contributing Factors This issue can occur in the following releases: SPARC Platform * Solaris 10 without patch 120094-11 x86 Platform * Solaris 10 without patch 120095-11 Notes: 1. Solaris 8 and 9 are not affected by this issue. 2. This issue only affects GNOME sessions which had the Assistive Technologies feature enabled when the session was started. To determine if this feature is configured to start at the beginning of a GNOME session, go to the 'Launch' menu and select 'Preferences', then 'Assistive Technology Preferences', and if the 'Enabled Assistive Technology' box is checked, new GNOME sessions are impacted. 3. Symptoms There are no predictable symptoms that would indicate the described issue has been exploited. Solution Summary Top 4. Relief/Workaround To work around the described issue until patches can be applied, GNOME Assistive Technology can be temporarily disabled by doing the following: 1. Go to: Launch menu -> Preferences -> Assistive Technology Preferences 2. Uncheck the "Enabled Assistive Technology" choice in the dialog box 3. Select the 'Close and Log Out' button to log out of the system and then log in again for the changes to take effect. 5. Resolution This issue is addressed in the following releases: SPARC Platform * Solaris 10 with patch 120094-11 or later x86 Platform * Solaris 10 with patch 120095-11 or later 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). 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[***** End Sun Alert ID: 102834 *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Sun Microsystems for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. 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