Security update for openssh
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(Last modified: 18SEP2003)
solutions Security update for openssh SuSE Linux Maintenance Web (c96e9e3f3a124a18ba49c393308ad911)
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Package: openssh
Release: 20030918
Obsoletes: none
daemon (this is the default).
The package is installed on most SuSE products, and the ssh daemon (sshd, the ssh server) is activated by default on most SuSE systems to allow for secure remote administration of a system.
A patch for the openssh package has been released on Sep 16 2003, fixing the errors known as the buffer_append_space() bug. This patch is a re-release, augmented by another set of bugfixes that have been issued officially by the openssh developers in the meanwhile, known as buffer.c/channels.c bugs.
The errors found may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system running the sshd ssh server. SuSE Security currently assumes that the second sequence of bugs is remotely exploitable. To properly identify, track and verify the bugs, these bugs have been assigned the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project names CAN-2003-0693, CAN-2003-0695 and CAN-2003-0682. The latter is considered a precautious security addition.
In addition to the fix for the buffer_append_space() bug, this update turns off the Privilege Separation feature (See the option UsePrivilegeSeparation in the sshd global configuration file /etc/ssh/sshd_config). The feature was to blame for various incosistencies in PAM authentication mechanisms and features that are incompatible with the Privilege Separation feature. If you have modified the sshd_config file that comes with the package, your configuration will not get overwritten by the update package.
It is highly recommended to install this update package on all systems that have an openssh daemon (sshd) running.
After performing the update, it is necessary to restart the sshd secure shell daemon. To do this, run the following command as root:
rcsshd restart
Already running instances with established (legitimate) ssh connections should not be influenced and should continue to run.
rpm -Uvh openssh.rpm
For the openssh update package to become effective, run the command
rcsshd restart
as root.
Download Source Packages
Download the source code of the patches for maintained products.
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