[ GLSA 200812-09 ] OpenSC: Insufficient protection of smart card PIN

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: OpenSC: Insufficient protection of smart card PIN (GLSA 200812-09)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: December 10, 2008
Bug(s): #233543
ID: 200812-09

Synopsis

Smart cards formatted using OpenSC do not sufficiently protect the PIN, allowing attackers to reset it.

Background

OpenSC is a smart card application that allows reading and writing via PKCS#11.

Affected Packages

Package: dev-libs/opensc
Vulnerable: < 0.11.6
Unaffected: >= 0.11.6
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

Chaskiel M Grundman reported that OpenSC uses weak permissions (ADMIN file control information of 00) for the 5015 directory on smart cards and USB crypto tokens running Siemens CardOS M4.

Impact

A physically proximate attacker can exploit this vulnerability to change the PIN on a smart card and use it for authentication, leading to privilege escalation.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All OpenSC users should upgrade to the latest version, and then check and update their smart cards: