Last revised: September 19, 1997
Attached copyright statement
A complete revision history is at the end of this file.
The CERT Coordination Center has received information concerning several vulnerabilities in the following CONVEX Computer Corporation products: ConvexOS/Secure, CONVEX CXbatch, CONVEX Storage Manager (CSM), and ConvexOS EMACS. These vulnerabilities can affect ConvexOS versions V6.2 - V10.2 and ConvexOS/Secure versions V9.5 and V10.0 on all supported architectures.
CONVEX is aware of the vulnerabilities, and fixes or workarounds are available. Three of the fixes are implemented as full Engineering Change Notice (ECN) patches and, as such, will be shipped with all new systems as well as being released as upgrades for the products CXbatch, CSM and ConvexOS/Secure. There is a workaround available for the ConvexOS EMACS vulnerability. CONVEX is currently incorporating the fixes to these vulnerabilities into future releases of each product. Future shipments of these products should not be vulnerable to these problems.
If you have any questions about the affected products, please contact your CONVEX representative or the CONVEX Technical Assistance Center (TAC) at 1-800-952-0379.
ConvexOS/Secure: passwd patch
I. Description
The "passwd" command in ConvexOS/Secure contains a security vulnerability in versions V9.5 and V10.0 of ConvexOS/Secure. This vulnerability has been fixed in ConvexOS/Secure V10.1.II. Impact
Local users can gain unauthorized root access.III. Solution
Obtain and install ConvexOS/Secure V10.0.2 - Part No.710-007815-008.
Convex CXbatch: qmgr patch
I. Description
The "qmgr" command in CONVEX CXbatch versions V1.0 - V2.1.3 contains a security vulnerability. This vulnerability is present in ConvexOS V6.2 - V10.2 on systems that have installed the optional CXbatch facility.II. Impact
Local users can gain unauthorized root access.III. Solution
A. As root, rename the existing version of /usr/convex/qmgr and
modify the permission (from 6755 to 700) to prevent misuse.
# /bin/mv /usr/convex/qmgr /usr/convex/qmgr.orig
# /bin/chmod 700 /usr/convex/qmgr.orig
B. Next, obtain and install CONVEX CXbatch V2.1.4 - Part No. 710-007830-011.
Convex CSM: migmgr patch
I. Description
The "migmgr" command in CONVEX CSM contains a security vulnerability, in ConvexOS version V10.1 of systems that have installed the CSM facility. This vulnerability will be fixed in the next CSM release.II. Impact
Local users can gain unauthorized root access.III. Solution
A. As root, rename the existing version of /usr/csm/bin/migmgr and modify the permission (from 4755 to 700) to prevent misuse.
# /bin/mv /usr/csm/bin/migmgr /usr/csm/bin/migmgr.orig
# /bin/chmod 700 /usr/csm/bin/migmgr.orig
B. Next, obtain and install CONVEX CSM V1.0.1 - Part No. 710-011315-003
ConvexOS: EMACS editor workaround
I. Description
The EMACS Editor in ConvexOS contains a security vulnerability, in ConvexOS versions V9.0 - V10.2.II. Impact
Local users can gain unauthorized access to /dev/kmem.III. Solution
As root, remove the setgid bit from /usr/convex/emacs.
# /bin/chmod 755 /usr/convex/emacs
The CERT Coordination Center wishes to thank the CONVEX Computer Corporation for their response to these problems. We would also like to thank Bob Vickers from the University of London Computer Centre, London, England, for reporting the CXbatch problem to us.
Copyright 1992 Carnegie Mellon University.
Revision History
September 19,1997 Attached Copyright Statement