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FreeBSD-SA-00:78                                           Security Advisory

                                                                FreeBSD, Inc.



Topic:          bitchx allows remote code execution



Category:       ports

Module:         bitchx

Announced:      2000-12-20

Credits:        nimrood 

Affects:        Ports collection prior to the correction date.

Corrected:      2000-12-12

Vendor status:  Updated version released

FreeBSD only:   NO



I.   Background



bitchx is a popular IRC client.



II.  Problem Description



The bitchx port, versions prior to 1.0c17_1, contains a remote

vulnerability.  Through a stack overflow in the DNS parsing code, a

malicious remote user in control of their reverse DNS records may

crash a bitchx session, or cause arbitrary code to be executed by the

user running bitchx.



The bitchx port is not installed by default, nor is it "part of FreeBSD"

as such: it is part of the FreeBSD ports collection, which contains over

4200 third-party applications in a ready-to-install format.  The ports

collections shipped with FreeBSD 3.5.1 and 4.2 contain this problem

since it was discovered after the releases.



FreeBSD makes no claim about the security of these third-party

applications, although an effort is underway to provide a security

audit of the most security-critical ports.



III. Impact



Malicious remote users may execute arbitrary code as the user running

bitchx.



If you have not chosen to install the bitchx port/package, then your

system is not vulnerable to this problem.



IV.  Workaround



Deinstall the bitchx port/package, if you have installed it.



V.   Solution



One of the following:



1) Upgrade your entire ports collection and rebuild the bitchx port.



2) Deinstall the old package and install a new package dated after the

correction date, obtained from:



http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-3-stable/irc/BitchX-1.0c17_1.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-4-stable/irc/BitchX-1.0c17_1.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/alpha/packages-4-stable/irc/BitchX-1.0c17_1.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-5-current/irc/BitchX-1.0c17_1.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/alpha/packages-5-current/irc/BitchX-1.0c17_1.tgz



NOTE: It may be several days before updated packages are available.



3) download a new port skeleton for the bitchx port from:



http://www.freebsd.org/ports/



and use it to rebuild the port.



4) Use the portcheckout utility to automate option (3) above. The

portcheckout port is available in /usr/ports/devel/portcheckout or the

package can be obtained from:



http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-3-stable/devel/portcheckout-2.0.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-4-stable/devel/portcheckout-2.0.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/alpha/packages-4-stable/devel/portcheckout-2.0.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-5-current/devel/portcheckout-2.0.tgz

http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/alpha/packages-5-current/devel/portcheckout-2.0.tgz



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