A Tomcat update has been released for Gentoo Linux

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200408-15
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: Normal
Title: Tomcat: Insecure Installation
Date: August 15, 2004
Bugs: #59232
ID: 200408-15

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Synopsis
=======

Improper file ownership may allow a member of the tomcat group to execute scripts as root.



Background
=========

Tomcat is the Apache Jakarta Project's official implementation of Java Servlets and Java Server Pages.

Affected packages
================

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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
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1 net-www/tomcat < 5.0.27-r3 >= 5.0.27-r3
*>= 4.1.30-r4
*>= 3.3.2-r2

Description
==========

The Gentoo ebuild for Tomcat sets the ownership of the Tomcat init scripts as tomcat:tomcat, but those scripts are executed with root privileges when the system is started. This may allow a member of the tomcat group to run arbitrary code with root privileges when the Tomcat init scripts are run.

Impact
=====

This could lead to a local privilege escalation or root compromise by authenticated users.

Workaround
=========

Users may change the ownership of /etc/init.d/tomcat* and /etc/conf.d/tomcat* to be root:root:

# chown -R root:root /etc/init.d/tomcat*
# chown -R root:root /etc/conf.d/tomcat*

Resolution
=========

All Tomcat users can upgrade to the latest stable version, or simply apply the workaround:

# emerge sync
# emerge -pv ">=net-www/tomcat-5.0.27-r3"
# emerge ">=net-www/tomcat-5.0.27-r3"

Availability
===========

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website:

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200408-15.xml

Concerns?
========

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at http://bugs.gentoo.org.

License
======

Copyright 2004 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text belongs to its owner(s).

The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0