TECHNICAL BULLETIN

T-226: Debian devscripts 'uscan' Input Validation Vulnerability

[CVE-2009-2946]

September 8, 2009 14:00 GMT


PROBLEM:	The Debian 'devscripts' package is prone to an input-validation vulnerability because the 'uscan' application runs Perl code from potentially untrusted sources.
PLATFORM:	Debian Linux 5.0 all versions, Debian Linux 4.0 all versions, Debian devscripts 2.10.35, Debian devscripts 2.9.26, and Debian devscripts 2.9.25
ABSTRACT:	Eval injection vulnerability in scripts/uscan.pl before Rev 1984 in devscripts allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Perl code via crafted pathnames on distribution servers for upstream source code used in Debian GNU/Linux packages.

LINKS:
DOE-CIRC BULLETIN:	http://www.doecirc.energy.gov/bulletins/t-226.shtml
OTHER LINKS:	Debian Website http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=515209 Security Focus Website http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36227/info
CVE:	CVE-2009-2946

IMPACT ASSESSMENT:	This risk is high. Attackers can exploit this issue to perform unauthorized actions; other attacks are also possible.

[***** Start CVE-2009-2946 *****]
Discussion:
Uscan, a program to check for availability of new source code versions which is part of the devscripts package, runs Perl code downloaded from potentially
untrusted sources to implement its URL and version mangling functionality. This update addresses this issue by reimplementing the relevant Perl operators without relying on the Perl interpreter, trying to preserve backwards compatibility as much as possible.

For the old stable distribution (etch), this problem has been fixed in
version 2.9.26etch4.

For the stable distribution (lenny), this problem has been fixed in
version 2.10.35lenny6.

For the unstable distribution (sid), this problem will be fixed in
version 2.10.54.

Solution:
The vendor has supplied patches.

Upgrade instructions
- --------------------

wget url
will fetch the file for you
dpkg -i file.deb
will install the referenced file.

If you are using the apt-get package manager, use the line for
sources.list as given below:

apt-get update
will update the internal database
apt-get upgrade
will install corrected packages

You may use an automated update by adding the resources from the
footer to the proper configuration.

Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 alias etch
[***** End CVE-2009-2946 *****]

DOE-CIRC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Raphael Geissert for the information contained in this bulletin.

DOE-CIRC services are available to DOE, DOE Contractors, and the NIH. DOE-CIRC can be contacted at:

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    E-mail:          doecirc@doecirc.energy.gov
    World Wide Web:  http://www.doecirc.energy.gov

UCRL-MI-119788