Low: augeas security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Synopsis

Low: augeas security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Low

Topic

Updated augeas packages that fix two security issues, several bugs, and add
various enhancements are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having low
security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score,
which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in
the References section.

Description

Augeas is a utility for editing configuration. Augeas parses configuration
files in their native formats and transforms them into a tree.
Configuration changes are made by manipulating this tree and saving it back
into native configuration files. Augeas also uses "lenses" as basic
building blocks for establishing the mapping from files into the Augeas
tree and back.

Multiple flaws were found in the way Augeas handled configuration files
when updating them. An application using Augeas to update configuration
files in a directory that is writable to by a different user (for example,
an application running as root that is updating files in a directory owned
by a non-root service user) could have been tricked into overwriting
arbitrary files or leaking information via a symbolic link or mount point
attack. (CVE-2012-0786, CVE-2012-0787)

The augeas package has been upgraded to upstream version 1.0.0, which
provides a number of bug fixes and enhancements over the previous version.
(BZ#817753)

This update also fixes the following bugs:

• Previously, when single quotes were used in an XML attribute, Augeas was
  unable to parse the file with the XML lens. An upstream patch has been
  provided ensuring that single quotes are handled as valid characters and
  parsing no longer fails. (BZ#799885)
  
• Prior to this update, Augeas was unable to set up the "require_ssl_reuse"
  option in the vsftpd.conf file. The updated patch fixes the vsftpd lens to
  properly recognize this option, thus fixing this bug. (BZ#855022)
  
• Previously, the XML lens did not support non-Unix line endings.
  Consequently, Augeas was unable to load any files containing such line
  endings. The XML lens has been fixed to handle files with CRLF line
  endings, thus fixing this bug. (BZ#799879)
  
• Previously, Augeas was unable to parse modprobe.conf files with spaces
  around "=" characters in option directives. The modprobe lens has been
  updated and parsing no longer fails. (BZ#826752)
  

All Augeas users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
contain backported patches to correct these issues and add these
enhancements.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the
Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
https://access.redhat.com/site/articles/11258

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 6 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 6 ppc64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 i386
• Red Hat Virtualization 3 for RHEL 6 x86_64

Fixes

• BZ - 772257 - CVE-2012-0786 augeas: susceptible to symlink attack
• BZ - 772261 - CVE-2012-0787 augeas: susceptible to mountpoint attack
• BZ - 826752 - virsh iface-list produces an error when "options ipv6 disable = 1" is in an /etc/modprobe.d file
• BZ - 855022 - Augeas can't setup "require_ssl_reuse" option in vsftpd.conf

CVEs

• CVE-2012-0787
• CVE-2012-0786

References

• https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#low