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Date:      Tue, 23 Jul 2002 12:32:12 -0600
From:      Jason Porter <leporter@xmission.com>
To:        chris <lists@powernet.net>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Vulnerability in PHP Clarification?
Message-ID:  <3D3DA12C.30001@xmission.com>
References:  <007a01c23277$371ade80$a701a8c0@reno.powernet.net>

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http://www.php.net

Has a security warning posted on their site.  It affects 4.2.0 and
4.2.1.  An update to 4.2.2 is highly recommended.

chris wrote:
| Can anyone clarify this a bit? I see that they state that 4.2.0 and 4.2.1
| are vulnerable.
| If you goto the link provided
| http://security.e-matters.de/advisories/012002.html
| It states that the older versions are vulnerable and that the 4.2 tree is
| not affected.
| Not to mention that link is dated 5months old!
| What is right?
|
|  -Chris
|
|
| ----- Original Message -----
| From: "CERT Advisory" <cert-advisory@cert.org>
| To: <cert-advisory@cert.org>
| Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002 4:09 PM
| Subject: CERT Advisory CA-2002-21 Vulnerability in PHP
|
|
|
|>
|>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
|>
|>CERT Advisory CA-2002-21 Vulnerability in PHP
|>
|>   Original release date: July 22, 2002
|>   Last revised: --
|>   Source: CERT/CC
|>
|>   A complete revision history can be found at the end of this file.
|>
|>Systems Affected
|>
|>     * Systems running PHP versions 4.2.0 or 4.2.1
|>
|>Overview
|>
|>   A  vulnerability  has been discovered in PHP. This vulnerability could
|>   be  used  by  a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or crash PHP
|>   and/or the web server.
|>
|>I. Description
|>
|>   PHP  is  a  popular  scripting  language  in  widespread use. For more
|>   information about PHP, see
|>
|>          http://www.php.net/manual/en/faq.general.php
|>
|>   The  vulnerability  occurs  in the portion of PHP code responsible for
|>   handling  file uploads, specifically multipart/form-data. By sending a
|>   specially  crafted  POST  request  to  the web server, an attacker can
|>   corrupt  the  internal  data  structures used by PHP. Specifically, an
|>   intruder  can  cause  an improperly initialized memory structure to be
|>   freed.  In  most  cases, an intruder can use this flaw to crash PHP or
|>   the  web  server. Under some circumstances, an intruder may be able to
|>   take  advantage  of  this  flaw  to  execute  arbitrary  code with the
|>   privileges of the web server.
|>
|>   You  may  be  aware that freeing memory at inappropriate times in some
|>   implementations  of  malloc  and  free  does not usually result in the
|>   execution  of  arbitrary  code.  However, because PHP utilizes its own
|>   memory  management  system,  the  implementation of malloc and free is
|>   irrelevant to this problem.
|>
|>   Stefan  Esser  of  e-matters  GmbH has indicated that intruders cannot
|>   execute   code   on   x86   systems.   However,  we  encourage  system
|>   administrators  to  apply  patches  on  x86  systems  as well to guard
|>   against denial-of-service attacks and as-yet-unknown attack techniques
|>   that may permit the execution of code on x86 architectures.
|>
|>   This  vulnerability  was discovered by e-matters GmbH and is described
|>   in  detail  in  their  advisory.  The  PHP  Group  has  also issued an
|>   advisory.  A list of vendors contacted by the CERT/CC and their status
|>   regarding this vulnerability is available in VU#929115.
|>
|>   Although   this  vulnerability  only  affects  PHP  4.2.0  and  4.2.1,
|>   e-matters  GmbH  has  previously  identified  vulnerabilities in older
|>   versions  of  PHP.  If  you  are  running  older  versions  of PHP, we
|>   encourage you to review
|>   http://security.e-matters.de/advisories/012002.html
|>
|>II. Impact
|>
|>   A  remote  attacker can execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
|>   An  attacker  may not be able to execute code on x86 architectures due
|>   to  the way the stack is structured. However, an attacker can leverage
|>   this  vulnerability  to  crash PHP and/or the web server running on an
|>   x86 architecture.
|>
|>III. Solution
|>
|>Apply a patch from your vendor
|>
|>   Appendix A contains information provided by vendors for this advisory.
|>   As  vendors report new information to the CERT/CC, we will update this
|>   section  and note the changes in our revision history. If a particular
|>   vendor  is  not  listed  below,  we  have not received their comments.
|>   Please contact your vendor directly.
|>
|>Upgrade to the latest version of PHP
|>
|>   If  a  patch  is  not  available  from your vendor, upgrade to version
|>   4.2.2.
|>
|>Deny POST requests
|>
|>   Until  patches  or an update can be applied, you may wish to deny POST
|>   requests.  The  following  workaround  is  taken from the PHP Security
|>   Advisory:
|>
|>     If  the  PHP  applications on an affected web server do not rely on
|>     HTTP POST input from user agents, it is often possible to deny POST
|>     requests on the web server.
|>
|>     In  the  Apache  web server, for example, this is possible with the
|>     following  code  included  in  the  main  configuration  file  or a
|>     top-level .htaccess file:
|>
|>     <Limit POST>
|>        Order deny,allow
|>        Deny from all
|>     </Limit>
|>
|>     Note  that an existing configuration and/or .htaccess file may have
|>     parameters contradicting the example given above.
|>
|>Disable vulnerable service
|>
|>   Until  you  can upgrade or apply patches, you may wish to disable PHP.
|>   As a best practice, the CERT/CC recommends disabling all services that
|>   are not explicitly required. Before deciding to disable PHP, carefully
|>   consider your service requirements.
|>
|>Appendix A. - Vendor Information
|>
|>   This  appendix  contains  information  provided  by  vendors  for this
|>   advisory.  As  vendors  report new information to the CERT/CC, we will
|>   update this section and note the changes in our revision history. If a
|>   particular  vendor  is  not  listed  below, we have not received their
|>   comments.
|>
|>Apple Computer Inc.
|>
|>          Mac  OS  X  and  Mac  OS X Server are shipping with PHP version
|>          4.1.2  which  does  not  contain the vulnerability described in
|>          this alert.
|>
|>Caldera
|>
|>          Caldera  OpenLinux  does  not provide either vulnerable version
|>          (4.2.0,  4.2.1)  of  PHP  in their products. Therefore, Caldera
|>          products are not vulnerable to this issue.
|>
|>Compaq Computer Corporation
|>
|>          SOURCE:  Compaq Computer Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary
|>          of  Hewlett-Packard  Company  and  Hewlett-Packard  Company  HP
|>          Services Software Security Response Team
|>          x-ref: SSRT2300 php post requests
|>          At  the  time  of  writing  this  document, Compaq is currently
|>          investigating   the   potential  impact  to  Compaq's  released
|>          Operating System software products.
|>          As  further  information  becomes available Compaq will provide
|>          notice  of  the  availability  of any necessary patches through
|>          standard  security bulletin announcements and be available from
|>          your normal HP Services supportchannel.
|>
|>Cray Inc.
|>
|>          Cray, Inc. does not supply PHP on any of its systems.
|>
|>Debian
|>
|>          Debian GNU/Linux stable aka 3.0 is not vulnerable.
|>          Debian GNU/Linux testing is not vulnerable.
|>          Debian GNU/Linux unstable is vulnerable.
|>          The  problem  effects PHP versions 4.2.0 and 4.2.1. Woody ships
|>          an  older  version  of  PHP  (4.1.2),  that doesn't contain the
|>          vulnerable function.
|>
|>FreeBSD
|>
|>          FreeBSD  does not include any version of PHP by default, and so
|>          is  not  vulnerable; however, the FreeBSD Ports Collection does
|>          contain  the  PHP4  package. Updates to the PHP4 package are in
|>          progress  and a corrected package will be available in the near
|>          future.
|>
|>Guardian Digital
|>
|>          Guardian  Digital  has not shipped PHP 4.2.x in any versions of
|>          EnGarde, therefore we are not believed to be vulnerable at this
|>          time.
|>
|>Hewlett-Packard Company
|>
|>          SOURCE:  Hewlett-Packard Company Security Response Team
|>          At  the  time  of  writing  this  document,  Hewlett Packard is
|>          currently  investigating  the potential impact to HP's released
|>          Operating System software products.
|>          As further information becomes available HP will provide notice
|>          of  the  availability of any necessary patches through standard
|>          security  bulletin  announcements  and  be  available from your
|>          normal HP Services support channel.
|>
|>IBM
|>
|>          IBM  is  not vulnerable to the above vulnerabilities in PHP. We
|>          do  supply the PHP packages for AIX through the AIX Toolbox for
|>          Linux  Applications.  However,  these packages are at 4.0.6 and
|>          also incorporate the security patch from 2/27/2002.
|>
|>Mandrakesoft
|>
|>          Mandrake Linux does not ship with PHP version 4.2.x and as such
|>          is  not  vulnerable.  The  Mandrake Linux cooker does currently
|>          contain  PHP  4.2.1  and  will  be  updated shortly, but cooker
|>          should  not be used in a production environment and no advisory
|>          will be issued.
|>
|>Microsoft Corporation
|>
|>          Microsoft  products  are not affected by the issues detailed in
|>          this advisory.
|>
|>Network Appliance
|>
|>          No Netapp products are vulnerable to this.
|>
|>Red Hat Inc.
|>
|>          None  of  our commercial releases ship with vulnerable versions
|>          of PHP (4.2.0, 4.2.1).
|>
|>SuSE Inc.
|>
|>          SuSE Linux is not vulnerable to this problem, as we do not ship
|>          PHP 4.2.x.
|>     _________________________________________________________________
|>
|>   The  CERT/CC acknowledges e-matters GmbH for discovering and reporting
|>   this vulnerability.
|>     _________________________________________________________________
|>
|>   Author: Ian A. Finlay.
|>   ______________________________________________________________________
|>
|>   This document is available from:
|>   http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2002-21.html
|>   ______________________________________________________________________
|>
|>CERT/CC Contact Information
|>
|>   Email: cert@cert.org
|>          Phone: +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline)
|>          Fax: +1 412-268-6989
|>          Postal address:
|>          CERT Coordination Center
|>          Software Engineering Institute
|>          Carnegie Mellon University
|>          Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
|>          U.S.A.
|>
|>   CERT/CC   personnel   answer  the  hotline  08:00-17:00  EST(GMT-5)  /
|>   EDT(GMT-4)  Monday  through  Friday;  they are on call for emergencies
|>   during other hours, on U.S. holidays, and on weekends.
|>
|>Using encryption
|>
|>   We  strongly  urge you to encrypt sensitive information sent by email.
|>   Our public PGP key is available from
|>   http://www.cert.org/CERT_PGP.key
|>
|>   If  you  prefer  to  use  DES,  please  call the CERT hotline for more
|>   information.
|>
|>Getting security information
|>
|>   CERT  publications  and  other security information are available from
|>   our web site
|>   http://www.cert.org/
|>
|>   To  subscribe  to  the CERT mailing list for advisories and bulletins,
|>   send  email  to majordomo@cert.org. Please include in the body of your
|>   message
|>
|>   subscribe cert-advisory
|>
|>   *  "CERT"  and  "CERT  Coordination Center" are registered in the U.S.
|>   Patent and Trademark Office.
|>   ______________________________________________________________________
|>
|>   NO WARRANTY
|>   Any  material furnished by Carnegie Mellon University and the Software
|>   Engineering  Institute  is  furnished  on  an  "as is" basis. Carnegie
|>   Mellon University makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or
|>   implied  as  to  any matter including, but not limited to, warranty of
|>   fitness  for  a  particular purpose or merchantability, exclusivity or
|>   results  obtained from use of the material. Carnegie Mellon University
|>   does  not  make  any warranty of any kind with respect to freedom from
|>   patent, trademark, or copyright infringement.
|>     _________________________________________________________________
|>
|>   Conditions for use, disclaimers, and sponsorship information
|>
|>   Copyright 2002 Carnegie Mellon University.
|>
|>   Revision History
|>July 22, 2002:  Initial release
|>
|>
|>
|>
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|
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- --
- -Jason Porter

"Real programmers are secure enough to write
readable code, which they then self-righteously
refuse to explain."
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