R: Multiple vulnerabilities

1. Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Advisory Reference	GLSA 200801-02 / R
Release Date	January 09, 2008
Latest Revision	January 09, 2008: 02
Impact	normal
Exploitable	remote

Package	Vulnerable versions	Unaffected versions	Architecture(s)
dev-lang/R	< 2.2.1-r1	>= 2.2.1-r1	All supported architectures

Related bugreports: #198976

Synopsis

Multiple vulnerabilities in R could result in the execution of arbitrary code.

2. Impact Information

Background

R is a GPL licensed implementation of S, a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. PCRE is a library providing functions for Perl-compatible regular expressions.

Description

R includes a copy of PCRE which is vulnerable to multiple buffer overflows and memory corruptions vulnerabilities (GLSA 200711-30).

Impact

An attacker could entice a user to process specially crafted regular expressions with R, which could possibly lead to the execution of arbitrary code, a Denial of Service or the disclosure of sensitive information.

3. Resolution Information

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All R users should upgrade to the latest version:

Code Listing 3.1: Resolution

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-lang/R-2.2.1-r1"

4. References

GLSA 200711-30

Page updated January 09, 2008

Summary: This is a Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

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