Home / mailings [RHSA-2010:0181-05] Low: brltty security and bug fix update
Posted on 30 March 2010
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Red Hat Security Advisory
Synopsis: Low: brltty security and bug fix update
Advisory ID: RHSA-2010:0181-05
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL: https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2010-0181.html
Issue date: 2010-03-30
CVE Names: CVE-2008-3279
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1. Summary:
Updated brltty packages that fix one security issue and several bugs are
now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
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.
2. Relevant releases/architectures:
RHEL Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client) - i386, x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) - i386, ia64, ppc, s390x, x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) - i386, x86_64
3. Description:
brltty (Braille TTY) is a background process (daemon) which provides access
to the Linux console (when in text mode) for a blind person using a
refreshable braille display. It drives the braille display, and provides
complete screen review functionality.
It was discovered that a brltty library had an insecure relative RPATH
(runtime library search path) set in the ELF (Executable and Linking
Format) header. A local user able to convince another user to run an
application using brltty in an attacker-controlled directory, could run
arbitrary code with the privileges of the victim. (CVE-2008-3279)
These updated packages also provide fixes for the following bugs:
* the brltty configuration file is documented in the brltty manual page,
but there is no separate manual page for the /etc/brltty.conf configuration
file: running "man brltty.conf" returned "No manual entry for brltty.conf"
rather than opening the brltty manual entry. This update adds brltty.conf.5
as an alias to the brltty manual page. Consequently, running "man
brltty.conf" now opens the manual entry documenting the brltty.conf
specification. (BZ#530554)
* previously, the brltty-pm.conf configuration file was installed in the
/etc/brltty/ directory. This file, which configures Papenmeier Braille
Terminals for use with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is optional. As well, it
did not come with a corresponding manual page. With this update, the file
has been moved to /usr/share/doc/brltty-3.7.2/BrailleDrivers/Papenmeier/.
This directory also includes a README document that explains the file's
purpose and format. (BZ#530554)
* during the brltty packages installation, the message
Creating screen inspection device /dev/vcsa...done.
was presented at the console. This was inadequate, especially during the
initial install of the system. These updated packages do not send any
message to the console during installation. (BZ#529163)
* although brltty contains ELF objects, the brltty-debuginfo package was
empty. With this update, the -debuginfo package contains valid debugging
information as expected. (BZ#500545)
* the MAX_NR_CONSOLES definition was acquired by brltty by #including
linux/tty.h in Programs/api_client.c. MAX_NR_CONSOLES has since moved to
linux/vt.h but the #include in api_client.c was not updated. Consequently,
brltty could not be built from the source RPM against the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5 kernel. This update corrects the #include in
api_client.c to linux/vt.h and brltty now builds from source as expected.
(BZ#456247)
All brltty users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
resolve these issues.
4. 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
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259
5. Bugs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):
456247 - brltty doesn't build with kernel 2.6.18-92.1.1
457942 - CVE-2008-3279 brltty: insecure relative RPATH
500545 - brltty-debuginfo is empty
529163 - Creating screen inspection device /dev/vcsa...done.
530554 - Missing man-pages
6. Package List:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client):
Source:
ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Client/en/os/SRPMS/brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.src.rpm
i386:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
x86_64:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
RHEL Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client):
Source:
ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Client/en/os/SRPMS/brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.src.rpm
i386:
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
x86_64:
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server):
Source:
ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Server/en/os/SRPMS/brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.src.rpm
i386:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
ia64:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.ia64.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.ia64.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.ia64.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.ia64.rpm
ppc:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.ppc.rpm
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.ppc64.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.ppc.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.ppc64.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.ppc.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.ppc.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.ppc64.rpm
s390x:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.s390.rpm
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.s390x.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.s390.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.s390x.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.s390x.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.s390.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.s390x.rpm
x86_64:
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brlapi-0.4.1-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.i386.rpm
brlapi-devel-0.4.1-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brltty-3.7.2-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.i386.rpm
brltty-debuginfo-3.7.2-4.el5.x86_64.rpm
These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat for security. Our key and
details on how to verify the signature are available from
https://www.redhat.com/security/team/key/#package
7. References:
https://www.redhat.com/security/data/cve/CVE-2008-3279.html
http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#low
8. Contact:
The Red Hat security contact is <secalert@redhat.com>. More contact
details at https://www.redhat.com/security/team/contact/
Copyright 2010 Red Hat, Inc.
