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                                 CERT-Renater

                      Note d'Information No. 2003/VULN135
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DATE                      : 02/04/2003

HARDWARE PLATFORM(S)      : /

OPERATING SYSTEM(S)       : Solaris 9
                            
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Sun(sm) Alert Notification 
Sun Alert ID: 52111 
Synopsis: On Solaris 9 a Security Issue with the newtask(1) Command May Lead 
to Unauthorized Root Access 
Category: Security 
Product: Solaris 
BugIDs: 4798119 
Avoidance: Patch 
State: Resolved 
Date Released: 28-Mar-2003 
Date Closed: 28-Mar-2003 
Date Modified: 

1. Impact 

A local unprivileged user may be able to gain unauthorized root access due to 
a security issue with the newtask(1) command in Solaris 9. 

2. Contributing Factors 

This issue can occur in the following releases: 

SPARC Platform 

Solaris 9 without patch 114713-01 
x86 Platform 

Solaris 9 without patch 114714-01 
Notes: Solaris 2.6 and 7 do not have the newtask(1) command and are therefore not 
affected by this issue. 

Solaris 8 is not affected by this issue. 

3. Symptoms 

There are no predictable symptoms that would show the described problem has been 
exploited to gain root privileges. 

Solution Summary Top 

4. Relief/Workaround 

To work around the described issue, remove the setuid bit from newtask(1): 

	# chmod u-s /usr/bin/sparcv7/newtask
	# chmod u-s /usr/bin/sparcv9/newtask 
	# chmod u-s /usr/sbin/i86/whodo                                    
Note: removing the set-user-ID bit from the "newtask" binary will prevent 
unprivileged users from using the "newtask" command. 

5. Resolution 

This issue is addressed in the following releases: 

SPARC Platform 

Solaris 9 with patch 114713-01 or later 
x86 Platform 

Solaris 9 with patch 114714-01 or later 

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 
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the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for 
the purposes contemplated by these agreements. 

Copyright 2000-2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, 
Santa Clara, CA 95054 U.S.A. All rights reserved. 

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