Note: This is an archival copy of Security Sun Alert 260528 as previously published on http://sunsolve.sun.com.
Latest version of this security advisory is available from http://support.oracle.com as Sun Alert 1020547.1.
Article ID : 1020547.1
Article Type : Sun Alerts (SURE)
Last reviewed : 2009-06-09
Audience : PUBLIC
Copyright Notice: Copyright © 2010, Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.

Security Vulnerability in the GnuTLS (libgnutls(3)) Library Certificate Chain Validation



Category
Security

Release Phase
Resolved

Bug Id
6821713

Product
Solaris 10 Operating System
OpenSolaris

Date of Resolved Release
10-Jun-2009

A security vulnerability in the GnuTLS (libgnutls(3)) library X.509 certificate chain validation:

1. Impact

A Security vulnerability in GnuTLS (libgnutls(3)) library X.509 certificate chain validation may cause client applications to trust certificate chains in which the last certificate is an arbitrary trusted, self-signed certificate. This may allow a remote unprivileged user to carry out man-in-the-middle type of attacks using forged serer certificates.

Evolution(evolution(1)) and Remote Desktop Applications are examples of applications which use this vulnerable library.

This vulnerability is also described in the following document:

2. Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases:

SPARC Platform
  • Solaris 10 without patch 123938-02
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_111
x86 Platform
  • Solaris 10 without patch 123939-02
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_111
Note 1: Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 are not impacted by this issue.

Note 2: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes above and beyond the build from which it was derived.  To determine the base build of OpenSolaris, the following command can be used:
    $ uname -v
snv_86
A system is only affected by this issue if it is running applications which use the affected libgnutls(3) library. To determine if an application has a dynamic dependency on the libgnutls(3) library, the ldd(1) utility can be used. For example, to check if Evolution(evolution(1)) has a dependency on GnuTLS, the following command can be used:
    $ ldd /usr/bin/evolution | grep libgnutls
libgnutls.so.26 =>     /usr/lib/libgnutls.so.26
Note: Some applications may use libgnutls(3) but not report libgnutls(3) as a dynamic dependency with ldd(1) if the library is loaded by dlopen(3C). Therefore, to display all shared objects used by an application, pldd(1) should be used against the running process. To check if libgnutls(3) is used by a running process, the following command can be used:
    $ pldd <pid of application> | grep libgnutls
3. Symptoms

There are no predictable symptoms that would indicate the described issue has occurred.

4. Workaround

There is no workaround for this issue. Please see the Resolution section below.

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases:

SPARC Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 123938-02 or later
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_111a or later
x86 Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 123939-02 or later
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_111a or later
For more information on Security Sun Alerts, see 1009886.1.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS" basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these agreements.

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References

123939-02
123938-02





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