Security update for OpenSSH

Knowledgebase

(Last modified: 05DEC2005)

solutions Security update for OpenSSH SuSE Linux Maintenance Web (b6dd9cd1ee5f739fa4bb7a65575aa18a)

Applies to

Package: openssh
openssh-askpass
Product(s): SUSE CORE 9 for x86
SUSE CORE 9 for Itanium Processor Family
SUSE CORE 9 for IBM POWER
SUSE CORE 9 for IBM S/390 31bit
SUSE CORE 9 for IBM zSeries 64bit
SUSE CORE 9 for AMD64 and Intel EM64T
Open Enterprise Server
Novell Linux Desktop 9 for x86
Novell Linux Desktop 9 for x86_64
Patch: patch-10668
Release: 20051205
Obsoletes: none

Indications

Update openssh to fix a lot of PAM problems.

Contraindications

None.

Problem description

Update openssh to version 4.1p1, which fixes a lot of PAM problems.
It fixes the following security problem: An information disclosure vulnerability has been found in the SSH server. When the GSSAPIAuthentication option was enabled, the SSH server could send GSSAPI credentials even to users who attempted to log in with a method other than GSSAPI. This could inadvertently expose these credentials to an untrusted user. This does not affect the default configuration of the SSH server.
Additional important note:
Among other several changes the below described change may affect several setups. For a detailed list of changes see /usr/share/doc/packages/openssh/ChangeLog, and the accompanying documentation.
When using PubkeyAuthentication and no PasswordAuthentication for accounts created with useradd that have never had a password, SSH clients are now locked out with the following message:


sshd[<PID>]: User &lt;username> not allowed because account is locked

The solution for this behavior is: The '!' password entry in /etc/shadow must now be substituted with '*'.
Thanks to Kevin Ivory from Sernet.

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 openssh.rpm openssh-askpass.rpm

links to download packages

Download Source Packages

Download the source code of the patches for maintained products.

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