Last revised: December 6, 2001
Source: CERT/CC
A complete revision history can be found at the end of this file.
The HP-UX line printer daemon (rlpdaemon) enables various clients to
share printers over a network. A remotely exploitable directory
traversal vulnerability exists in the rlpdaemon.
By sending a specially crafted print request to an HP-UX host running
the rlpdaemon, a local or remote attacker can create arbitrary files
or directories on the target host. Given the ability to create files
on the system, an attacker may be able to leverage this vulnerability
to gain privileged access to the system. Intruders may find this
vulnerability attractive to exploit because the line printer daemon is
enabled by default to provide printing services. Additionally, no
previous knowledge of or access to the vulnerable system is required
for exploitation.
Internet Security Systems (ISS) and Hewlett-Packard Company have
issued the following announcements, respectively:
This vulnerability has been assigned the identifier CAN-2001-0817 by
the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) group:
Systems Affected
HP9000 Servers running the following releases:
Overview
I. Description
II. Impact
An attacker may be able to gain priviledged access and execute arbitrary code on the target system.
III. Solution
Install a patch from HP. More information is available in Appendix A.
Restrict access to the lpd service
As a general practice, we recommend disabling all services that are not explicitly required. You may wish to disable the line printer daemon until a patch can be applied. If you cannot disable the service, you can limit your exposure to these vulnerabilities by using a router or firewall to restrict access to port 515/TCP (printer). Note that this does not protect you against attackers from within your network.
Appendix A. - Vendor Information
This appendix contains information provided by vendors for this advisory. When vendors report new information to the CERT/CC, we update this section and note the changes in our revision history. If a particular vendor is not listed below, we have not received their comments.
Please see Hewlett-Packard Company Security Bulletin #0176.
Hewlett-Packard Company
Appendix B. - References
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/638011
- http://xforce.iss.net/alerts/advise102.php
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/IAFY-54PKL4
This vulnerability was discovered and researched by Mark Dowd and Kris Hunt of Internet Security Systems (ISS). The CERT/CC thanks ISS for the information contained in their advisory.
Author: Ian A. Finlay.
Copyright 2001 Carnegie Mellon University.
Revision History
November 21, 2001: initial release December 06, 2001: changed title, updated description, updated impact