[ GLSA 200611-01 ] Screen: UTF-8 character handling vulnerability

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: Screen: UTF-8 character handling vulnerability (GLSA 200611-01)
Severity: high
Exploitable: remote
Date: November 03, 2006
Bug(s): #152770
ID: 200611-01

Synopsis

Screen contains an error in its UTF-8 character handling code that would allow a remote Denial of Service or possibly the remote execution of arbitrary code.

Background

Screen is a full-screen window manager that multiplexes a physical terminal between several processes, typically interactive shells.

Affected Packages

Package: app-misc/screen
Vulnerable: < 4.0.3
Unaffected: >= 4.0.3
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

cstone and Richard Felker discovered a flaw in Screen's UTF-8 combining character handling.

Impact

The vulnerability can be exploited by writing a special string of characters to a Screen window. A remote attacker could cause a Denial of Service or possibly execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running Screen through a program being run inside a Screen session, such as an IRC client or a mail client.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All Screen users should upgrade to the latest version: