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Cisco router/switch vulnerability

Opinion
Apr 12, 20045 mins
NetworkingSecurity

* Patches from RealNetworks, Debian, OpenPKG, others * Beware the first Trojan for Mac OS X * Security vendors bolster line of defense, and other interesting reading

Today’s bug patches and security alerts:

Another Cisco router/switch vulnerability reported

Cisco this week warned users that a flaw in the VPN blade for its Catalyst 6500 switch could be used by net attackers to crash the device. Network World Fusion, 04/09/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0409cisvuln.html?nl

Cisco advisory:

https://www.nwfusion.com/go2/0412bug1a.html

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CERT warns of Internet Explorer vulnerability

CERT has issued an advisory warning of potential cross-scripting vulnerability in the way Internet Explorer handles the ITS protocol. An attacker could exploit this to run arbitrary script on the affected machine. For more, including a workaround, go to:

https://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA04-099A.html

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Flaw in Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager patched

A vulnerability in Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager 2.0 could leave user credentials stored unencrypted on a local machine. An attacker could access and use the unprotected information to access network resources. For more, go to:

https://support.citrix.com/kb/entry.jspa?entryID=4062

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RealNetworks player flaw patched

RealNetworks has released an update for RealPlayer 8, RealOne Player, RealOne Player v2 for Windows that fixes a buffer overflow in one of its plug-ins. An attacker could run arbitrary code on the affected machine. The update can be found here:

https://service.real.com/help/faq/security/040406_r3t/en/

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Heap overflow in Winamp

NGSSoftware is reporting a flaw in the way the popular Nullsoft Winamp loads certain metafiles could be exploited by an attacker to overwrite heap memory. By exploiting the flaw, the attacker could run arbitrary code on the affected machine. For more, go to:

https://www.ngssoftware.com/advisories/winampheap.txt

A fix is available in Winamp 5.03:

https://www.winamp.com/player/

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Debian, OpenPKG patch squid

A flaw in the way the squid proxy servers deals with access control lists could be exploited by an attacker to bypass authentication. For more, go to:

Debian:

https://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-474

OpenPKG:

https://www.openpkg.org/security/OpenPKG-SA-2004.008-squid.html

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Debian, OpenPKG release patch for tcpdump

A flaw in the way Tcpdump, a network monitoring tool, handles ISAKMP could be exploited to run arbitrary code on the affected machine. For more, go to:

Debian:

https://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-478

OpenPKG:

https://www.openpkg.org/security/OpenPKG-SA-2004.010-tcpdump.html

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OpenPKG issues shareutils fix

A buffer overflow vulnerability has been found in the shareutils package for OpenPKG. The application does not properly bounds check a certain command line function. For more, go to:

https://www.nwfusion.com/go2/0412bug1b.html

OpenPKG releases Midnight Commands (mc) patch

A flaw in the way Midnight Commands (mc) handles certain symlinks could be exploited to execute code on the affected machine. An attacker would have to package the code in a .tar.gz or a cpio file and get the user to open it. For more, go to:

https://www.openpkg.org/security/OpenPKG-SA-2004.009-mc.html

OpenPKG fetchmail implementation patched

A denial-of-service vulnerability has been found in fetchmail’s head rewrite code. An attacker could use this to crash the affected machine. Download the update here:

https://www.nwfusion.com/go2/0412bug1c.html

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Mandrake Linux patches mplayer

Not enough memory is allocated for the buffer that accepts a URL from the server when MPlayer makes a request. This could result in a heap overflow that could be exploited to run arbitrary code on the affected machine. For more, go to:

https://www.nwfusion.com/go2/0412bug1d.html

Madrake Linux fixes ipsec-tools flaw

The “Racoon” utility in Mandrake Linux’s ipsec-tools package does not properly verify certain client signatures, potentially resulting in unauthorized access to the affected machine. For more, go to:

https://www.nwfusion.com/go2/0412bug1e.html

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Today’s roundup of virus alerts:

OS X Trojan horse is a nag

The first Trojan for Mac OS X is anything but, experts say, and Thursday’s warning from anti-virus company Intego was unnecessarily alarmist. By Leander Kahney. Wired, 04/09/04.

https://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,63000,00.html

W32/SdBot-CM – A network worm that installs a backdoor Trojan on the infected machine. The Trojan can be used to install other malicious code, steal system information and run denial-of-service attacks against another machine. (Sophos)

W32/Agobot-GA – Another Agobot variant that exploits weakly protected network shares to spread. The virus installs a backdoor accessible via IRC and disables certain security-related applications. (Sophos)

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From the interesting reading department:

Expert releases Cisco wireless hacking tool

One day after it disclosed a security vulnerability in a wireless networking product, Cisco must contend with a new threat – the long-promised release of a hacking tool that targets wireless networks running its LEAP wireless authentication protocol. IDG News Service, 04/08/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0408expert.html?nl

Security vendors bolster line of defense

IBM, Network Associates and Symantec each disclosed plans last week to beef up their security product lines to provide more defense for networks. Network World, 04/12/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0412mcafee.html?nl

Management Strategies: Gearing up for the CISSP exam

A Certified Information Systems Security Practitioner shares study tips for obtaining the hot certification. Network World, 04/12/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2004/0412man.html?nl

Software enhances digital rights management

Rights management vendor Liquid Machines last week released the latest version of its data-protection software that lets customers extend corporate document access controls to partners and suppliers. Network World, 04/12/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0412liquid.html?nl

Cybersecurity task force sparks debate

A cybersecurity task force convened by a U.S. House subcommittee chairman released a series of recommendations this week, but some of the results created rifts between IT vendors and security advocates, including a request to allow IT purchasers to band together to dictate security standards to vendors. IDG News Service, 04/09/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0409cybertask.html?nl

OASIS approves WS-Security Web services spec

WS-Security, a widely supported proposal for securing Web services, has been accepted by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) as an official standard. IDG News Service, 04/08/04.

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0408oasis.html?nl