Security update for apache and mod_ssl

Knowledgebase

(Last modified: 10OCT2002)

solutions Security update for apache and mod_ssl SuSE Linux Maintenance Web (013ed5899b41a6355fafdfd5f5fe532e)

Applies to

Product(s): SuSE Linux Database Server
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for IBM zSeries
SuSE eMail Server III
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for PowerPC
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for IA32
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for IA64
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for S/390 and zSeries
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server for S/390
SuSE eMail Server 3.1
SuSE Linux Office Server
SuSE Linux Connectivity Server

Package: apache
mod_ssl
Release: 20021010
Obsoletes: none

Indications

Everybody using the Apache module "apache" should update this package.

Contraindications

Problem description

This update fixes a security issue (noted under CAN-2002-0839 at cve.mitre.org).
Before Apache 1.3.27, the shared memory segment containing the scoreboard was owned by the user set via the directive "User" (wwwrun by default). This resulted in a vulnerability because every process running under this user id could write to the scoreboard.
This has some security implications: such a process could lead the parent httpd process to send a SIGUSR1 signaml to arbitrary processes, or to spawn many httpd children, for example).
This update package contains a patch that fixes this problem. A matching mod_ssl package is provided as well (it should be installed, too).
After installing the update, apache has to be restarted via 'rcapache restart'.
The owning user id of the shared memory segment containing the scoreboard of a running apache can be verified with the command ipcs -m.
A new directive (ShmemUIDisUser) provides backwards compatibility (for rare setups requiring the scoreboard to be owned another user than root).

Solution

Please install the updates provided at the location noted below.

Installation notes

This update is provided as an RPM package that can easily be installed onto a running system by using this command:


rpm -Uvh apache.rpm mod_ssl.rpm

After that restart Apache with:


rcapache restart

links to download packages

Download Source Packages

Download the source code of the patches for maintained products.

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