[ GLSA 200704-13 ] File: Denial of Service

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: File: Denial of Service (GLSA 200704-13)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: remote
Date: April 17, 2007
Updated: September 17, 2007
Bug(s): #174217
ID: 200704-13

Synopsis

A vulnerability has been discovered in file allowing for a denial of service.

Background

file is a utility that identifies a file format by scanning binary data for patterns.

Affected Packages

Package: sys-apps/file
Vulnerable: = 4.21
Unaffected: >= 4.21-r1
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

Conor Edberg discovered an error in the way file processes a specific regular expression.

Impact

A remote attacker could entice a user to open a specially crafted file, using excessive CPU ressources and possibly leading to a Denial of Service. Note that this vulnerability could be also triggered through an automatic file scanner like amavisd-new.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All file users should upgrade to the latest version: