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SQLIDEBUG envariable overflow on Informix



NGSSoftware Insight Security Research Advisory

Name: SQLIDEBUG envariable overflow on Informix
Systems Affected: 9.40.xC6 and earlier and 10.00.xC2, C1
Severity: High
Vendor URL: http://www.ibm.com/
Author: David Litchfield [ davidl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ]
Date of Public Advisory: 2nd August 2006
Advisory number: #NISR02082006G
CVEID: http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-3862
Advisory URL: http://www.ngssoftware.com/research/

Description
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Informix Dynamic Server is a database developed by IBM. During a security assessment of Informix it was discovered that an overflow could be triggered in a shared library with the SQLIDEBUG environment variable. This can be triggered to gain root privileges by accessing one of the setuid root binaries such as onmode.

Details
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There's a buffer overflow in most of the setuid root programs in Informix running on Linux. The problem arises due to an overly long SQLIDEBUG environment variable of the form

SQLIDEBUG=1:/long-file-name

At bytes 272-6 in the long "filename" the saved return address on the stack is overwritten.



Fix Information
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IBM was alerted to this flaw on the 13th January 2005. Patches have now been made available.

NGSSQuirreL for Informix, an advanced vulnerability assessment scanner designed specifically for Informix, can be used to accurately determine whether your servers are vulnerable to this flaw. More information about NGSSQuirreL for Informix can be found here http://www.ngssoftware.com/products/database-security/ngs-squirrel-informix.php

About NGSSoftware
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NGSSoftware develops vulnerability assessment and compliancy tools for database servers including Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2, Sybase and Informix. Headquartered in the United Kingdom NGS has offices in London, St. Andrews (UK), Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth (Australia) and Texas in the United States; NGSConsulting provide services to some of the largest and most demanding organizations around the globe.

http://www.ngssoftware.com/

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