From cert-advisory-request@cert.org Thu Aug 15 02:51:20 1996 Received: from why.cert.org (why.cert.org [192.88.210.60]) by suburbia.net (8.7.4/Proff-950810) with SMTP id CAA01315 for ; Thu, 15 Aug 1996 02:49:54 +1000 Received: (from cert-advisory@localhost) by why.cert.org (8.6.12/CERT-ecd.1) id KAA27110 for cert-advisory-queue-43; Wed, 14 Aug 1996 10:07:51 -0400 Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 10:07:51 -0400 Message-Id: <199608141407.KAA27110@why.cert.org> From: CERT Advisory To: cert-advisory@cert.org Subject: CERT Advisory CA-96.18 - Vulnerability in fm_fls Reply-To: cert-advisory-request@cert.org Organization: CERT(sm) Coordination Center - +1 412-268-7090 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ============================================================================= CERT(sm) Advisory CA-96.18 August 14, 1996 Topic: Vulnerability in fm_fls - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center has received reports of a configuration problem in the floating license server for Adobe FrameMaker (fm_fls) that enables non-privileged users to make any file world-readable and world-writable. Exploitation scripts are publicly available. Any system that includes a setuid version of fm_fls is vulnerable. Adobe Systems reports that the following Adobe products use fm_fls: Frame Products, version 4 FrameMaker FrameViewer FrameBuilder Frame Products, version 5 FrameMaker FrameMaker+SGML The CERT/CC team recommends installing a patch from your vendor. Until you can obtain a patch, we urge you to remove the setuid bit from all instances of fm_fls. As we receive additional information relating to this advisory, we will place it in ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.18.README We encourage you to check our README files regularly for updates on advisories that relate to your site. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Description FrameMaker is a commercial text-processing software package available from Adobe Systems, Inc. It is also available from other vendors as part of their product line offering. When FrameMaker versions 4.X or 5.X are installed, the installation script provided with FrameMaker installs a file named fm_fls that is setuid to installing user, typically the root user. fm_fls is typically found in the FrameMaker installation tree. Consult your documentation for precise location of fm_fls. When fm_fls runs, it opens up a log file, which by default is /tmp/fm_fls.log. In normal operation, fm_fls writes logging information about license usage to the named log file. However, when given invalid arguments, fm_fls writes these arguments to the log file, changes the owner of the log file to root or whoever installed fm_fls, changes the permissions to world-readable and world-writable, and then exits. Therefore, by giving fm_fls invalid arguments and naming another file as the log file, a user can make that file world-readable and world-writable. Adobe Systems reports that fm_fls is installed as setuid root because it registers the license manager program with the the program number mapper, also known as portmap or rpcbind. On some platforms, only the original user (in this case root) or the root user has permission to remove a registration. fm_fls will attempt to remove a previous registration when it is restarted. With fm_fls setuid root, restarting fm_fls ensures that all changes made in the program number mapper are successful because they are done by the same user. The floating license servers shipped with and installed by FrameMaker 4.X and 5.X are vulnerable. Similarly, any other system that includes a setuid version of fm_fls is vulnerable. Exploitation scripts are publicly available. II. Impact Anyone with access to an account on an unpatched system can create world-writable and world-readable files; it is then easy to gain root access. III. Solution Obtain and install a vendor patch when it becomes available. In the meantime, remove the setuid bit from all instances of fm_fls. To determine if a system is vulnerable and to disable the programs that are believed to be vulnerable, use the find command we provide below or a variant. Consult your local system documentation to determine how to tailor the find program on your system. You will need to run the find command on each system you maintain because the command examines files on the local disk only. Substitute the names of your local file systems for FILE_SYSTEM_NAMES in the example. Example local file system names are /, /usr, and /var. To find all instances of fm_fls and then to remove the setuid bit from them, do the following as root. Note that this is one long command, though we have separated it onto two lines using a back-slash. find FILE_SYSTEM_NAMES -xdev -type f -name fm_fls -perm -04000 \ -print -ok chmod u-s '{}' \; This command will find all files on a system that are - only in the file system you name (FILE_SYSTEM_NAMES -xdev) - regular files (-type f) - named fm_fls - setuid (-perm -04000) Once found, those files will - have their names printed (-print) - have the setuid mode removed, but only if you type `y' in response to the prompt (-ok chmod u-s '{}' \;) With the setuid root bit removed, fm_fls must then be started each time by the same user. That user should be root so that the previous registration can be successfully removed no matter what platform fm_fls is running on. In addition, the log file, license.log, should be stored in a non-public directory; specify this new location with the -log command line argument. Consult the documentation that comes with FrameMaker versions 4.X and 5.X to learn how to do this on your system. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center staff thanks Adobe Systems for their support in the development of this advisory. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact the CERT Coordination Center or your representative in the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). We strongly urge you to encrypt any sensitive information you send by email. The CERT Coordination Center can support a shared DES key and PGP. Contact the CERT staff for more information. Location of CERT PGP key ftp://info.cert.org/pub/CERT_PGP.key CERT Contact Information - ------------------------ Email cert@cert.org Phone +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline) CERT personnel answer 8:30-5:00 p.m. EST (GMT-5)/EDT(GMT-4), and are on call for emergencies during other hours. Fax +1 412-268-6989 Postal address CERT Coordination Center Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890 USA CERT publications, information about FIRST representatives, and other security-related information are available for anonymous FTP from http://www.cert.org/ ftp://info.cert.org/pub/ CERT advisories and bulletins are also posted on the USENET newsgroup comp.security.announce To be added to our mailing list for CERT advisories and bulletins, send your email address to cert-advisory-request@cert.org Copyright 1996 Carnegie Mellon University This material may be reproduced and distributed without permission provided it is used for noncommercial purposes and the copyright statement is included. CERT is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University. This file: ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.18.fm_fls http://www.cert.org click on "CERT Advisories" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMhHG2XVP+x0t4w7BAQGT4wP7BZQK6EAnTP2KCJ7pJgw5xmSMnOmxLkIu KCjBhiC3zAUmh6WJ23i3JaJL4hAPeDWgDda2JfP4iJC1KYJkcAN1EmQqnGqq+ZTx GEAdcYPWr+d1VWhzkNooGIZD1CO9nIMlSeIbQR3XmNUoRByv975YckJCiMAhkZqa WyRsGFAGY3w= =08Of -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----