PuTTY: Remote code execution

1. Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Advisory Reference	GLSA 200502-28 / Putty
Release Date	February 21, 2005
Latest Revision	February 21, 2005: 01
Impact	normal
Exploitable	remote

Package	Vulnerable versions	Unaffected versions	Architecture(s)
net-misc/putty	< 0.57	>= 0.57	All supported architectures

Related bugreports: #82753

Synopsis

PuTTY was found to contain vulnerabilities that can allow a malicious SFTP server to execute arbitrary code on unsuspecting PSCP and PSFTP clients.

2. Impact Information

Background

PuTTY is a popular SSH client, PSCP is a secure copy implementation, and PSFTP is a SSH File Transfer Protocol client.

Description

Two vulnerabilities have been discovered in the PSCP and PSFTP clients, which can be triggered by the SFTP server itself. These issues are caused by the improper handling of the FXP_READDIR response, along with other string fields.

Impact

An attacker can setup a malicious SFTP server that would send these malformed responses to a client, potentially allowing the execution of arbitrary code on their system.

3. Resolution Information

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All PuTTY users should upgrade to the latest version:

Code Listing 3.1: Resolution

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=net-misc/putty-0.57"

4. References

Updated February 21, 2005

Summary: This is a Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

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