slocate security update

Synopsis

slocate security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Low

Topic

An updated slocate package that fixes a denial of service and various bugs
is available.

This update has been rated as having low security impact by the Red Hat
Security Response Team.

Description

Slocate is a security-enhanced version of locate. Like locate, slocate
searches through a central database (updated nightly) for files that match
a given pattern. Slocate allows you to quickly find files anywhere on your
system.

A bug was found in the way slocate scans the local filesystem. A carefully
prepared directory structure could cause updatedb's file system scan to
fail silently, resulting in an incomplete slocate database. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project has assigned the name CAN-2005-2499
to this issue.

Additionally this update addresses the following issues:

• File system type exclusions were processed only when starting updatedb
  and did not reflect file systems mounted while updatedb was running
  (for example, automounted file systems.)
  
• File system type exclusions were ignored for file systems that were
  mounted to a path containing a symbolic link.
  
• Databases created by slocate were owned by the slocate group even if they
  were created by regular users.
  
• The default configuration excluded /mnt/floppy, but not /media.
  
• The default configuration did not exclude nfs4 file systems.
  

Users of slocate are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which
contains backported patches and is not affected by these issues.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat
Network to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat
Update Agent, use the following command:

up2date

For information on how to install packages manually, refer to the
following Web page for the System Administration or Customization
guide specific to your system:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 4 ppc

Fixes

• BZ - 139950 - slocate collects .automount files over nfs
• BZ - 152253 - Incorrect path in /etc/updatedb.conf
• BZ - 156091 - updatedb indexes nfs4 filesystems
• BZ - 165430 - CAN-2005-2499 slocate DOS

CVEs

• CVE-2005-2499

References

(none)