[ GLSA 200701-28 ] thttpd: Unauthenticated remote file access

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: thttpd: Unauthenticated remote file access (GLSA 200701-28)
Severity: low
Exploitable: remote
Date: January 31, 2007
Updated: March 11, 2007
Bug(s): #142047
ID: 200701-28

Synopsis


The default configuration of the Gentoo thttpd package potentially allows
unauthenticated access to system files when used with newer versions of
baselayout.


Background


thttpd is a webserver designed to be simple, small, and fast.


Affected Packages

Package: www-servers/thttpd
Vulnerable: < 2.25b-r6
Unaffected: >= 2.25b-r6
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description


thttpd is vulnerable to an underlying change made to the
start-stop-daemon command in the current stable Gentoo baselayout
package (version 1.12.6). In the new version, the start-stop-daemon
command performs a "chdir /" command just before starting the thttpd
process. In the Gentoo default configuration, this causes thttpd to
start with the document root set to "/", the sytem root directory.


Impact


When thttpd starts with the document root set to the system root
directory, all files on the system that are readable by the thttpd
process can be remotely accessed by unauthenticated users.


Workaround


Alter the THTTPD_OPTS variable in /etc/conf.d/thttpd to include the
"-d" option to specify the document root. Alternatively, modify the
THTTPD_OPTS variable in /etc/conf.d/thttpd to specify a thttpd.conf
file using the "-C" option, and then configure the "dir=" directive in
that thttpd.conf file.


Resolution


All thttpd users should upgrade to the latest version: