Security update for OpenSSL

Knowledgebase

(Last modified: 21FEB2003)

solutions Security update for OpenSSL SuSE Linux Maintenance Web (4b5e1a52a4e98f479c19123b973042b9)

Applies to

Product(s): SuSE Firewall on CD 2 - VPN
SuSE Firewall on CD 2
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 for IA32
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for x86
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for IPF
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for IBM iSeries and IBM pSeries
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for IBM S/390 and IBM zSeries
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for IBM zSeries
SuSE Linux Office Server
SuSE Linux Openexchange Server 4

Package: openssl
Release: 20030221
Obsoletes: none

Indications

This security update should be installed on all systems using OpenSSL.

Contraindications

None.

Problem description

This update for the openssl packages removes the vulnerability known as "Timing-based attacks on SSL/TLS with CBC encryption" as announced by the OpenSSL development team on February 19th 2003.
A possible exploitation scenario requires an attacker to be able to perform a man-in-the-middle attack with a network quality good enough to observe timing differences. In addition to that, the endpoints of the encrypted connection may not propagate decoding errors to the application that uses the SSL connection, and the network traffic must repeatedly consist of the same plain text block.
Even though these conditions impose a limit to the severity of the vulnerability, we recommend to update the package on your system with the offered update packages.

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 -Fvh openssl.rpm
Note: The openssl package contains the shared libraries that may be used by processes when binaries are started. For the changes with this update to become effective, the processes using these shared libraries must be restarted.
If you use self-compiled and statically linked binaries in your system, you should update the openssl-devel package which accompanies this update of OpenSSL and recompile the affected programs. The package openssl-devel is available from the maintenance web article "Security update for OpenSSL (package openssl-devel)" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/psdb/html/d7cba6a9980ab28d14a3b2324d17477f.html) for products containing the package.

links to download packages

Download Source Packages

Download the source code of the patches for maintained products.

Disclaimer

The Origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information. However, the information provided in this document is for your information only. Novell makes no explicit or implied claims to the validity of this information.

Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information.