Amazon Linux AMI : python26 (ALAS-2012-98)

medium Nessus Plugin ID 69705

Synopsis

The remote Amazon Linux AMI host is missing a security update.

Description

A denial of service flaw was found in the implementation of associative arrays (dictionaries) in Python. An attacker able to supply a large number of inputs to a Python application (such as HTTP POST request parameters sent to a web application) that are used as keys when inserting data into an array could trigger multiple hash function collisions, making array operations take an excessive amount of CPU time. To mitigate this issue, randomization has been added to the hash function to reduce the chance of an attacker successfully causing intentional collisions. (CVE-2012-1150)

Note: The hash randomization is not enabled by default as it may break applications that incorrectly depend on dictionary ordering. To enable the protection, the new 'PYTHONHASHSEED' environment variable or the Python interpreter's '-R' command line option can be used. Refer to the python(1) manual page for details.

A flaw was found in the way the Python SimpleXMLRPCServer module handled clients disconnecting prematurely. A remote attacker could use this flaw to cause excessive CPU consumption on a server using SimpleXMLRPCServer. (CVE-2012-0845)

A flaw was found in the way the Python SimpleHTTPServer module generated directory listings. An attacker able to upload a file with a specially crafted name to a server could possibly perform a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against victims visiting a listing page generated by SimpleHTTPServer, for a directory containing the crafted file (if the victims were using certain web browsers). (CVE-2011-4940)

A race condition was found in the way the Python distutils module set file permissions during the creation of the .pypirc file. If a local user had access to the home directory of another user who is running distutils, they could use this flaw to gain access to that user's .pypirc file, which can contain usernames and passwords for code repositories. (CVE-2011-4944)

Solution

Run 'yum update python26' to update your system.

See Also

https://alas.aws.amazon.com/ALAS-2012-98.html

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 69705

File Name: ala_ALAS-2012-98.nasl

Version: 1.6

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 9/4/2013

Updated: 4/18/2018

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 4.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26-devel, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26-libs, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26-test, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:python26-tools, cpe:/o:amazon:linux

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/AmazonLinux/release, Host/AmazonLinux/rpm-list

Patch Publication Date: 7/5/2012

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2011-4940, CVE-2011-4944, CVE-2012-0845, CVE-2012-1150

ALAS: 2012-98

RHSA: 2012:0744