Vulnerability Note VU#647438

HP-UX FTP daemon is vulnerable to a buffer overflow

Overview

The HP-UX FTP daemon (ftpd) contains a buffer overflow that may allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.

I. Description

The HP-UX FTP daemon (ftpd) is vulnerable to a buffer overflow when the FTP daemon is configured to log debugging information. Debug logging is enabled if the -v flag is present next to the ftpd entry in the inetd.conf (/etc/inetd.conf) configuration file. If an unauthenticated remote attacker supplies the FTP daemon with a specially crafted command, they may be able to trigger a stack-based buffer overflow.

Please note that the debug logging option is disabled by default.

II. Impact

If an unauthenticated, remote attacker supplies the FTP daemon with a specially crafted command, that attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the FTP daemon, typically root.

III. Solution

Apply Patch

HP has released the following patches to correct this issue:

HP customers are encouraged to go to the lT Resource Center to download these patches.

Disable Debug Logging

The debug logging option is disabled by default. However, if it is enabled, disable it by removing the -v option from the ftpd command within the service inetd.conf configuration file.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Hewlett-Packard Company	Vulnerable	24-Feb-2005

References

http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=175&type=vulnerabilities
http://secunia.com/advisories/13608/
http://securitytracker.com/alerts/2004/Dec/1012650.html

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by iDEFENSE Security.

This document was written by Jeff Gennari.

Other Information

Date Public:	2004-12-21
Date First Published:	2005-02-25
Date Last Updated:	2005-02-25
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):
NVD-ID(s):
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	3.44
Document Revision:	54

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