[ GLSA 200910-01 ] Wget: Certificate validation error

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: Wget: Certificate validation error (GLSA 200910-01)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: remote
Date: October 20, 2009
Bug(s): #286058
ID: 200910-01

Synopsis


An error in the X.509 certificate handling of Wget might enable remote
attackers to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks.


Background


GNU Wget is a free software package for retrieving files using HTTP,
HTTPS and FTP, the most widely-used Internet protocols.


Affected Packages

Package: net-misc/wget
Vulnerable: < 1.12
Unaffected: >= 1.12
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description


The vendor reported that Wget does not properly handle Common Name (CN)
fields in X.509 certificates that contain an ASCII NUL () character.
Specifically, the processing of such fields is stopped at the first
occurrence of a NUL character. This type of vulnerability was recently
discovered by Dan Kaminsky and Moxie Marlinspike.


Impact


A remote attacker might employ a specially crafted X.509 certificate,
containing a NUL character in the Common Name field to conduct
man-in-the-middle attacks on SSL connections made using Wget.


Workaround


There is no known workaround at this time.


Resolution


All Wget users should upgrade to the latest version: