Freeciv: Denial of Service

1. Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Advisory Reference	GLSA 200603-11 / freeciv
Release Date	March 16, 2006
Latest Revision	March 16, 2006: 01
Impact	normal
Exploitable	remote

Package	Vulnerable versions	Unaffected versions	Architecture(s)
games-strategy/freeciv	< 2.0.8	>= 2.0.8	All supported architectures

Related bugreports: #125304

Synopsis

A memory allocation bug in Freeciv allows a remote attacker to perform a Denial of Service attack.

2. Impact Information

Background

Freeciv is an open source turn-based multiplayer strategy game, similar to the famous Civilization series.

Description

Luigi Auriemma discovered that Freeciv could be tricked into the allocation of enormous chunks of memory when trying to uncompress malformed data packages, possibly leading to an out of memory condition which causes Freeciv to crash or freeze.

Impact

A remote attacker could exploit this issue to cause a Denial of Service by sending specially crafted data packages to the Freeciv game server.

3. Resolution Information

Workaround

Play solo games or restrict your multiplayer games to trusted parties.

Resolution

All Freeciv users should upgrade to the latest version:

Code Listing 3.1: Resolution

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=games-strategy/freeciv-2.0.8"

4. References

Updated March 16, 2006

Summary: This is a Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

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