Security vulnerability in Solaris Pidgin (see pidgin(1)), Versions Prior to 2.5.9 may Lead to Execution of Arbitrary Code or a Denial of Service (DoS) Condition

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A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the MSN protocol handler of libpurple(3):

1. Impact

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the MSN protocol handler of libpurple(3), the shared library that adds support for various instant messaging networks to the pidgin(1) Instant Messaging client (previously known as Gaim), may allow remote unprivileged users to execute arbitrary code or cause a Denial of Service (DoS) through an application crash.

Additional information on this issue can be found in the following document:

    CVE-2009-2694 at:
    http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2009-2694

2. Contributing Factors

These issues can occur in the following releases:

SPARC Platform

• Solaris 10 without patch 119548-14
  
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_123
  

x86 Platform

• Solaris 10 without patch 119549-14
  
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_01 through snv_123
  

Note 1: Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 do not ship Pidgin and therefore are not affected by this issue.

Note 2: This issue only affects systems that have the Pidgin IM client installed. All versions of Pidgin, up to and including versions 2.5.8 are affected by this issue.

To determine if Pidgin is installed on the system and to check the version of Pidgin installed, the following command may be used:

    $ /usr/bin/pidgin -v || echo "Pidgin IM client not installed"

Note 3: OpenSolaris builds prior to snv_68, and Solaris 10 without patches 119548-11 (for SPARC) or 119549-11 (for x86) include the Gaim Instant Messaging client and not Pidgin. Gaim versions 0.79 and later are affected by this issue. The Workaround given in section 4 below applies to Gaim as well.

To determine if Gaim is installed on the system and to check the version of Gaim installed, the following command may be used:

    $ /usr/bin/gaim -v || echo "Gaim IM client not installed"

Note 4: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes above and beyond the build from which it was derived.  To determine the base build of OpenSolaris, the following command can be used:

    $ uname -v
    snv_86

3. Symptoms

If the described issue has been exploited to cause a Denial of Service (DoS), Pidgin will crash, potentially leaving a core file depending on the system configuration.

There are no predictable symptoms that would indicate that this issue has been exploited to execute arbitrary code.

4. Workaround

To mitigate the impact of the described issue, the privacy settings of MSN accounts in Pidgin may be changed as follows:

1. Open Pidgin's Buddy List window
2. Click on Tools -> Privacy

For MSN accounts, choose either the "Allow only the users on my buddy list" or the "Allow only the users below" option.

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases:

SPARC Platform

• Solaris 10 with patch 119548-14 or later
  
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_124 or later
  

x86 Platform

• Solaris 10 with patch 119549-14 or later
  
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_124 or later

For more information on Security Sun Alerts, see Technical Instruction ID 213557.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS" basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these agreements.

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Modification History

05-Oct-2009: Updated the Contributing Factors and Resolution sections.
15-Dec-2009: Updated Contributing Factors and Resolution sections. Resolved.

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