CERT Vendor-Initiated Bulletin VB-95:09 December 14, 1995 Topic: Security vulnerability in ftp in releases 9.X and 10.X of HP-UX Source: Hewlett-Packard Company To aid in the wide distribution of essential security information, the CERT Coordination Center is forwarding the following information from Hewlett-Packard. HP urges you to act on this information as soon as possible. HP contact information is included in the forwarded text below; please contact them if you have any questions or need further information. ========================FORWARDED TEXT STARTS HERE============================ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEWLETT-PACKARD SECURITY BULLETIN: HPSBUX9511-028, 28 Nov 95 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hewlett-Packard recommends that the information in the following Security Bulletin should be acted upon as soon as possible. Hewlett- Packard will not be liable for any consequences to any customer resulting from customer's failure to fully implement instructions in this Security Bulletin as soon as possible. _______________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: Security vulnerability in ftp in releases 9.X and 10.X of HP-UX PLATFORM: HP 9000 series 300/400s and 700/800s DAMAGE: A vulnerability in ftp behavior exists which involves ftp server bouncing. This is a cumulative ftp(1) and ftpd(1M) patch. SOLUTION: Apply patch PHNE_6013 (series 700/800, HP-UX 9.x), or PHNE_6014 (series 700/800, HP-UX 10.x), or PHNE_6146 (series 300/400, HP-UX 9.x), or PHNE_6170 (series 700, HP-UX 9.09), or PHNE_6169 (series 700, HP-UX 9.09+), or PHNE_6171 (series 800, HP-UX 9.08) PHNE_5965 (series 700, HP-UX 10.09) AVAILABILITY: All patches are available now, except for the 9.0X BLS patches which will be available after January 2, 1996. _______________________________________________________________________ I. Update A. Vulnerability The vulnerability allows users to exploit ftp. If these patches are properly installed, the vulnerability cannot be exploited. It has been found that all HP-UX systems have this vulnerability. B. Fixing the problem The vulnerability can be eliminated from releases 9.x and 10.x of HP-UX by applying a patch. To treat only the commercial releases of HP-UX prior to 9.x, administrators should make plans to upgrade their systems to a currently supported release listed above. Hewlett-Packard recommends that all customers concerned with the security of their HP-UX systems apply the appropriate patch described above as soon as possible. Side effects: none. C. How to Install the Patch (for HP-UX 9.x and 10.x) 1. Determine which patch is appropriate for your hardware platform and operating system: For the Commercial HP-UX releases: PHNE_6013 (series 700/800, HP-UX 9.x), or PHNE_6014 (series 700/800, HP-UX 10.x), or PHNE_6146 (series 300/400, HP-UX 9.x). For the BLS HP-UX releases: PHNE_6169 (series 700, HP-UX 9.09+), or PHNE_6170 (series 700, HP-UX 9.09), or PHNE_6171 (series 800, HP-UX 9.08), or PHNE_5965 (series 700, HP-UX 10.09). The three 9.0x B Level Security (BLS) patches will be available after January 2, 1996. 2. Hewlett Packard's HP-UX patches are available via email and World Wide Web. To obtain a copy of the HP SupportLine email service user's guide, send the following in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE to support@us.external.hp.com (no Subject is required): send guide The user's guide explains the process for downloading HP-UX patches via email and other services available. World Wide Web service for downloading of patches is available via our URL: (http://us.external.hp.com/) 3. Apply the patch to your HP-UX system. 4. Examine /tmp/update.log for any relevant WARNINGs or ERRORs. This can be done as follows: a. At the shell prompt, type "tail -60 /tmp/update.log | more" b. Page through the next three screens via the space bar, looking for WARNING or ERROR messages. D. Impact of the patch and workaround The patch for HP-UX releases 9.x and 10.x provides a new version of /usr/bin/ftp and /etc/ftpd which fixes the vulnerability. No patches will be available for versions of HP-UX prior to 9.0. To protect those affected systems, we recommend upgrading to a currently supported release of HP-UX. E. To subscribe to automatically receive future NEW HP Security Bulletins from the HP SupportLine mail service via electronic mail, send an email message to: support@us.external.hp.com (no Subject is required) Multiple instructions are allowed in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE, here are some basic instructions you may want to use: To add your name to the subscription list for new security bulletins, send the following in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE: subscribe security_info To retrieve the index of all HP Security Bulletins issued to date, send the following in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE: send security_info_list To get a patch matrix of current HP-UX and BLS security patches referenced by either Security Bulletin or Platform/OS, put the following in the text portion of your message: send hp-ux_patch_matrix World Wide Web service for browsing of bulletins is available via our URL: (http://us.external.hp.com/) Choose "Support news", then under Support news, choose "Security Bulletins" F. To report new security vulnerabilities, send email to security-alert@hp.com _______________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== ***HP SupportLine Mail Service Notice*** This digest contains a summary of all newly received Security Bulletins. You do not have to have any form of support from Hewlett-Packard to subscribe to this digest or to procure the recommended patches via the HP SupportLine mail service. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To obtain a copy of the HP SupportLine mail service user's guide, send the following (in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE to) to the HP SupportLine mail service. To: support@us.external.hp.com Message Text: send guide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To obtain a patch identified within this Security Bulletin, send the following (in the TEXT PORTION OF THE MESSAGE) to the HP SupportLine mail service. To: support@us.external.hp.com Message Text: send xxxxxxxxxxxx (where xxxxxxxxxxxx represents the specified patch name). - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have concerns about security issues, please forward them to: security-alert@hp.com The security-alert node is monitored during working hours Pacific Daylight Time by multiple HP Security Response Team personnel. 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