Debian DSA-1020-1 : flex - buffer overflow

high Nessus Plugin ID 22562

Synopsis

The remote Debian host is missing a security-related update.

Description

Chris Moore discovered that flex, a scanner generator, generates code, which allocates insufficient memory, if the grammar contains REJECT statements or trailing context rules. This may lead to a buffer overflow and the execution of arbitrary code.

If you use code, which is derived from a vulnerable lex grammar in an untrusted environment you need to regenerate your scanner with the fixed version of flex.

Solution

Upgrade the flex package.

The old stable distribution (woody) is not affected by this problem.

For the stable distribution (sarge) this problem has been fixed in version 2.5.31-31sarge1.

See Also

http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-1020

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 22562

File Name: debian_DSA-1020.nasl

Version: 1.17

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 10/14/2006

Updated: 1/4/2021

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

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.5

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.5

Temporal Score: 5.5

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:flex, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:3.1

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/Debian/release, Host/Debian/dpkg-l

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 3/28/2006

Vulnerability Publication Date: 2/22/2006

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2006-0459

CWE: 119

DSA: 1020