The sm_close_on_exec function in conf.c in sendmail before 8.14.9 has arguments in the wrong order, and consequently skips setting expected FD_CLOEXEC flags, which allows local users to access unintended high-numbered file descriptors via a custom mail-delivery program.
The MITRE CVE dictionary describes this issue as:
Find out more about CVE-2014-3956 from the MITRE CVE dictionary dictionary and NIST NVD.
This issue affects the versions of sendmail as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5, 6, and 7. Red Hat Product Security has rated this issue as having Low security impact. This issue is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Issue Severity Classification: https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/.
NOTE: The following CVSS v2 metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
| Base Score | 1 |
|---|---|
| Base Metrics | AV:L/AC:H/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N |
| Access Vector | Local |
| Access Complexity | High |
| Authentication | Single |
| Confidentiality Impact | None |
| Integrity Impact | Partial |
| Availability Impact | None |
Find out more about Red Hat support for the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
| Platform | Package | State |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | sendmail | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | sendmail | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | sendmail | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 | sendmail | Will not fix |
Vulmon