A new security update has been released for Gentoo Linux - fetchmail: Password exposure in fetchmailconf. Here the announcement:
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200511-06
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http://security.gentoo.org/
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Severity: Normal
Title: fetchmail: Password exposure in fetchmailconf
Date: November 06, 2005
Bugs: #110366
ID: 200511-06
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Synopsis
========
fetchmailconf fails to properly handle file permissions, temporarily
exposing sensitive information to other local users.
Background
==========
fetchmail is a utility that retrieves and forwards mail from remote
systems using IMAP, POP, and other protocols. It ships with
fetchmailconf, a graphical utility used to create configuration files.
Affected packages
=================
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Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
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1 net-mail/fetchmail < 6.2.5.2-r1 >= 6.2.5.2-r1
Description
===========
Thomas Wolff discovered that fetchmailconf opens the configuration file
with default permissions, writes the configuration to it, and only then
restricts read permissions to the owner.
Impact
======
A local attacker could exploit the race condition to retrieve sensitive
information like IMAP/POP passwords.
Workaround
==========
Run "umask 077" to temporarily strengthen default permissions, then run
"fetchmailconf" from the same shell.
Resolution
==========
All fetchmail users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-mail/fetchmail-6.2.5.2-r1"
References
==========
[ 1 ] Fetchmail Security Advisory
http://fetchmail.berlios.de/fetchmail-SA-2005-02.txt
[ 2 ] CVE-2005-3088
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2005-3088
Availability
============
This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at
the Gentoo Security Website:
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200511-06.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 2005 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/2.0
