Gentoo 2509 Published by

A getmail security update is available for Gentoo Linux

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200409-32
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: High
Title: getmail: Filesystem overwrite vulnerability
Date: September 23, 2004
Bugs: #64643
ID: 200409-32

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Synopsis
=======

getmail contains a vulnerability that could potentially allow any local user to create or overwrite files in any directory on the system. This flaw can be escalated further and possibly lead to a complete system compromise.



Background
=========

getmail is a reliable fetchmail replacement that supports Maildir, Mboxrd and external MDA delivery.

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

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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
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1 net-mail/getmail < 4.2.0 >= 4.2.0

Description
==========

David Watson discovered a vulnerability in getmail when it is configured to run as root and deliver mail to the maildirs/mbox files of untrusted local users. A malicious local user can then exploit a race condition, or a similar symlink attack, and potentially cause getmail to create or overwrite files in any directory on the system.

Impact
=====

An untrusted local user could potentially create or overwrite files in any directory on the system. This vulnerability may also be exploited to have arbitrary commands executed as root.

Workaround
=========

Do not run getmail as a privileged user; or, in version 4, use an external MDA with explicitly configured user and group privileges.

Resolution
=========

All getmail users should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge sync

# emerge -pv ">=net-mail/getmail-4.2.0"
# emerge ">=net-mail/getmail-4.2.0"

References
=========

[ 1 ] getmail ChangeLog
http://www.qcc.ca/~charlesc/software/getmail-4/CHANGELOG
[ 2 ] getmail Mailing List
http://article.gmane.org/gmane.mail.getmail.user/1430

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

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

http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200409-32.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