[R4] Nessus 5.2.11 / 6.3.7 Fixes Third-party Library

Related Vulnerabilities: CVE-2015-5895  

Tenable Nessus and Nessus Enterprise are affected by two recently patched vulnerabilities in SQLite: SQLite resolve_backslashes() Function .\ Command Handling Off-by-one Remote Heap Buffer Overflow: SQLite contains an off-by-one overflow condition in the resolve_backslashes() function. The issue is triggered as user-supplied input is not properly validated when handling .\ commands. This may allow a remote attacker to cause a limited heap-based buffer overflow, resulting in a denial of service or potentially execution of arbitrary code. SQLite sqlite3VdbeExec() Function Database File Handling Heap Buffer Overflow: SQLite contains an overflow condition in the sqlite3VdbeExec() function. The issue is triggered as user-supplied input is not properly validated when handling database files. This may allow a context-dependent attacker to cause a heap-based buffer overflow, resulting in a denial of service or potentially allowing the execution of arbitrary code. While Tenable has not confirmed this is exploitable, we have upgraded the software to use the latest version of SQLite as a precaution. Please note that Tenable strongly recommends that Nessus be installed on a subnet that is not Internet addressable.

Synopsis

Tenable Nessus and Nessus Enterprise are affected by two recently patched vulnerabilities in SQLite:

SQLite resolve_backslashes() Function .\ Command Handling Off-by-one Remote Heap Buffer Overflow:

SQLite contains an off-by-one overflow condition in the resolve_backslashes() function. The issue is triggered as user-supplied input is not properly validated when handling .\ commands. This may allow a remote attacker to cause a limited heap-based buffer overflow, resulting in a denial of service or potentially execution of arbitrary code.

SQLite sqlite3VdbeExec() Function Database File Handling Heap Buffer Overflow:

SQLite contains an overflow condition in the sqlite3VdbeExec() function. The issue is triggered as user-supplied input is not properly validated when handling database files. This may allow a context-dependent attacker to cause a heap-based buffer overflow, resulting in a denial of service or potentially allowing the execution of arbitrary code.

While Tenable has not confirmed this is exploitable, we have upgraded the software to use the latest version of SQLite as a precaution.

Please note that Tenable strongly recommends that Nessus be installed on a subnet that is not Internet addressable.

Solution

Tenable has released versions 5.2.11 and 6.3.7 that correspond to the supported operating systems and architectures. This version bundles the updated SQLite library (3.8.10.1), which is not affected.

To update your Nessus installation, follow these steps:

  1. Download the appropriate installation file to the system hosting Nessus or Nessus Enterprise, available at the Tenable Support Portal.
  2. Stop the Nessus service.
  3. Install according to your operating system procedures.
  4. Restart the Nessus service.