Integer overflow in the WriteProlog function in texttops in CUPS 1.1.17 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PostScript file that triggers a heap-based buffer overflow. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incorrect fix for CVE-2008-3640.

From Red Hat Security Advisory 2009:0308 :

Updated cups packages that fix a security issue are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The Common UNIX(r) Printing System (CUPS) provides a portable printing layer for UNIX operating systems.

The CUPS security advisory, RHSA-2008:0937, stated that it fixed CVE-2008-3640 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, and 5. It was discovered this flaw was not properly fixed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, however. (CVE-2009-0577)

These new packages contain a proper fix for CVE-2008-3640 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 already contain the appropriate fix for this flaw and do not need to be updated.

Users of cups should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue.

From Red Hat Security Advisory 2008:0937 :

Updated cups packages that fix multiple security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, and 5.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) provides a portable printing layer for UNIX(R) operating systems.

A buffer overflow flaw was discovered in the SGI image format decoding routines used by the CUPS image converting filter 'imagetops'. An attacker could create a malicious SGI image file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed.
(CVE-2008-3639)

An integer overflow flaw leading to a heap buffer overflow was discovered in the Text-to-PostScript 'texttops' filter. An attacker could create a malicious text file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed.
(CVE-2008-3640)

An insufficient buffer bounds checking flaw was discovered in the HP-GL/2-to-PostScript 'hpgltops' filter. An attacker could create a malicious HP-GL/2 file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed. (CVE-2008-3641)

Red Hat would like to thank regenrecht for reporting these issues.

All CUPS users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to resolve these issues.

The previous CUPS security advisor, stated that it fixed CVE-2008-3640 for Scientific Linux 3, 4, and 5. It was discovered this flaw was not properly fixed on Scientific Linux 3, however. (CVE-2009-0577)

These new packages contain a proper fix for CVE-2008-3640 on Scientific Linux 3. Scientific Linux 4 and 5 already contain the appropriate fix for this flaw and do not need to be updated.

It was discovered that the SGI image filter in CUPS did not perform proper bounds checking. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a crafted SGI image, an attacker could cause a denial of service. (CVE-2008-3639)

It was discovered that the texttops filter in CUPS did not properly validate page metrics. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a crafted text file, an attacker could cause a denial of service. (CVE-2008-3640)

It was discovered that the HP-GL filter in CUPS did not properly check for invalid pen parameters. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a crafted HP-GL or HP-GL/2 file, a remote attacker could cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code with user privileges. In Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04 LTS, attackers would be isolated by the AppArmor CUPS profile. (CVE-2008-3641)

NOTE: The previous update for CUPS on Ubuntu 6.06 LTS did not have the the fix for CVE-2008-1722 applied. This update includes fixes for the problem. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.

A buffer overflow in the SGI image format decoding routines used by the CUPS image converting filter imagetops was discovered. An attacker could create malicious SGI image files that could possibly execute arbitrary code if the file was printed (CVE-2008-3639).

An integer overflow flaw leading to a heap buffer overflow was found in the Text-to-PostScript texttops filter. An attacker could create a malicious text file that could possibly execute arbitrary code if the file was printed (CVE-2008-3640).

Finally, an insufficient buffer bounds checking flaw was found in the HP-GL/2-to-PostScript hpgltops filter. An attacker could create a malicious HP-GL/2 file that could possibly execute arbitrary code if the file was printed (CVE-2008-3641).

The updated packages have been patched to prevent this issue; for Mandriva Linux 2009.0 the latest CUPS version (1.3.9) is provided that corrects these issues and also provides other bug fixes.

Updated cups packages that fix a security issue are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The Common UNIX(r) Printing System (CUPS) provides a portable printing layer for UNIX operating systems.

The CUPS security advisory, RHSA-2008:0937, stated that it fixed CVE-2008-3640 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, and 5. It was discovered this flaw was not properly fixed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, however. (CVE-2009-0577)

These new packages contain a proper fix for CVE-2008-3640 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 already contain the appropriate fix for this flaw and do not need to be updated.

Users of cups should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue.

Updated cups packages that fix multiple security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, and 5.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

The Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) provides a portable printing layer for UNIX(R) operating systems.

A buffer overflow flaw was discovered in the SGI image format decoding routines used by the CUPS image converting filter 'imagetops'. An attacker could create a malicious SGI image file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed.
(CVE-2008-3639)

An integer overflow flaw leading to a heap buffer overflow was discovered in the Text-to-PostScript 'texttops' filter. An attacker could create a malicious text file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed.
(CVE-2008-3640)

An insufficient buffer bounds checking flaw was discovered in the HP-GL/2-to-PostScript 'hpgltops' filter. An attacker could create a malicious HP-GL/2 file that could, possibly, execute arbitrary code as the 'lp' user if the file was printed. (CVE-2008-3641)

Red Hat would like to thank regenrecht for reporting these issues.

All CUPS users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to resolve these issues.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
67808	Oracle Linux 3 : cups (ELSA-2009-0308)	Nessus	Oracle Linux Local Security Checks	medium
67755	Oracle Linux 3 / 4 / 5 : cups (ELSA-2008-0937)	Nessus	Oracle Linux Local Security Checks	critical
60536	Scientific Linux Security Update : cups on SL3.x i386/x86_64	Nessus	Scientific Linux Local Security Checks	medium
37836	Ubuntu 6.06 LTS / 7.04 / 7.10 / 8.04 LTS : cupsys vulnerabilities (USN-656-1)	Nessus	Ubuntu Local Security Checks	critical
36840	Mandriva Linux Security Advisory : cups (MDVSA-2008:211)	Nessus	Mandriva Local Security Checks	critical
35722	RHEL 3 : cups (RHSA-2009:0308)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	medium
35719	CentOS 3 / 4 : cups (CESA-2009:0308)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	medium
34384	RHEL 3 / 4 / 5 : cups (RHSA-2008:0937)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	critical
34375	CentOS 3 / 4 / 5 : cups (CESA-2008:0937)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	critical

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2009-0577

high

Tenable Plugins

medium

critical

medium

critical

critical

medium

medium

critical

critical