Note: This is an archival copy of Security Sun Alert 201382 as previously published on http://sunsolve.sun.com.
Latest version of this security advisory is available from http://support.oracle.com as Sun Alert 1001055.1.
Article ID : 1001055.1
Article Type : Sun Alerts (SURE)
Last reviewed : 2007-05-02
Audience : PUBLIC
Copyright Notice: Copyright © 2010, Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.

The Directory Server ("ns-slapd") May Exit Unexpectedly When Handling Certain Queries

Category
Security

Release Phase
Resolved

Product
Sun Java System Directory Server 5.1 Service Pack 3
Sun Java System Directory Server 5.2
Sun Java System Directory Server Enterprise Edition

Bug Id
6462036

Date of Workaround Release
23-MAR-2007

Date of Resolved Release
03-MAY-2007

Impact

The Directory Server process "ns-slapd" may be terminated by a local or remote unprivileged user. This would cause a Denial of Service (DoS) to directory server services hosted on the affected system.

Sun acknowledges with thanks, iDefense (http://www.idefense.com), for bringing this issue to our attention.

This issue is also described in the following document:


Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases for all platforms (Solaris 8, 9, and 10 on Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86 Platforms, Linux, Windows, HP-UX, and AIX):

Native Package Versions:

  • Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5 2003Q4 (5.2patch1)
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5 2004Q2 (5.2patch2)
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5 2005Q1 (5.2patch3)
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5 2005Q4 (5.2patch4)

PatchZIP (Compressed Archive) versions:

  • Sun ONE Directory Server 5.1
  • Sun One Directory Server 5.2
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5.2 Patch2
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5.2 Patch3
  • Sun Java System Directory Server 5.2 Patch4

Symptoms

If the described issue occurs, the Directory Server exits unexpectedly at the second request and a message similar to the following is logged for the first request:

    [10/Oct/2006:10:32:10 +0200] conn=0 op=0 msgId=1 - ber decoding error (op=Compare; params=DN,Type,Value)
    [10/Oct/2006:10:32:10 +0200] conn=0 op=0 msgId=1 - RESULT err=2 tag=111 nentries=0 etime=0

Workaround

There is no workaround for this issue.

To recover from an unresponsive LDAP server instance, the following command can be used to restart the LDAP server process:

On UNIX systems (usually as root user):

    # <server instance path>/start-slapd

On Windows systems, open the "Services" panel and start the service manually.


Resolution

This issue is addressed in Sun Java System Directory Server 5.2 Patch5. To upgrade to Directory Server 5.2patch5, apply the following patches:

For the Native Package Versions:

  • Solaris Sparc: 115614-27
  • Solaris x86: 115615-27
  • Linux: 118080-12
  • HP-UX : 121393-02
  • Windows: 121392-03

For the PatchZIP (Compressed Archive) versions:

  • Solaris Sparc: 117665-04
  • Solaris x86: 117666-04
  • Linux: 117668-04
  • Windows: 117667-04
  • HP-UX: 117669-04
  • AIX: 117670-04


Modification History
Date: 30-APR-2007
  • Updated Resolution section

Date: 03-MAY-2007
  • State: Resolved
  • Updated Resolution section


References

115614-27
115615-27
118080-12
121393-02
117668-04
117667-04
117669-04
117670-04
121392-03
117665-04
117666-04




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