tomcat6 security update (RHSA-2014-1038)

Original Release Date: August 21, 2014
Last Revised: October 27, 2017
Number: ASA-2014-331
Risk Level: Low
Advisory Version: 2.0
Advisory Status: Final

1. Overview:

Apache Tomcat is a servlet container for the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP) technologies.

It was found that several application-provided XML files, such as web.xml, content.xml, *.tld, *.tagx, and *.jspx, resolved external entities, permitting XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. An attacker able to deploy malicious applications to Tomcat could use this flaw to circumvent security restrictions set by the JSM, and gain access to sensitive information on the system. Note that this flaw only affected deployments in which Tomcat is running applications from untrusted sources, such as in a shared hosting environment. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2013-4590 to this issue.

It was found that, in certain circumstances, it was possible for a malicious web application to replace the XML parsers used by Apache Tomcat to process XSLTs for the default servlet, JSP documents, tag library descriptors (TLDs), and tag plug-in configuration files. The injected XML parser(s) could then bypass the limits imposed on XML external entities and/or gain access to the XML files processed for other web applications deployed on the same Apache Tomcat instance. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2014-0119 to this issue.

All Tomcat users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. Tomcat must be restarted for this update to take effect.

More information about these vulnerabilities can be found in the security advisory issued by Red Hat:

2. Avaya System Products using a modified version of RHEL6 with affected packages installed:

Product: Affected Version(s): Risk Level: Actions:
Avaya IP Office Server Edition 9.0 through 9.1.3 Low Upgrade to 9.1.4 or later.
Avaya IP Office Application Server 9.0 through 9.1.3 Low Upgrade to 9.1.4 or later.

Recommended Actions for System Products:
Avaya strongly recommends following networking and security best practices by implementing firewalls, ACLs, physical security or other appropriate access restrictions. Though Avaya believes such restrictions should always be in place, risk to Avaya products and the surrounding network from this potential vulnerability may be mitigated by ensuring these practices are implemented until such time as an Avaya provided product update or the recommended Avaya action is applied. Further restrictions as deemed necessary based on the customer's security policies may be required during this interim period, but the System Product operating system or application should not be modified unless the change is approved by Avaya. Making changes that are not approved may void the Avaya product service contract.

Mitigating Factors:

When determining risk, Avaya takes into account many factors as outlined by Avaya's Security Vulnerability Classification Policy. The following table describes factors that mitigate the risk of specific vulnerabilities for affected Avaya products:

Vulnerability Mitigating Factors
CVE-2013-4590
CVE-2014-0119
The risk is rated Low for all products because exploiting these vulnerabilities would require administrative privileges.

3. Avaya Software-Only Products:

Avaya software-only products operate on general-purpose operating systems. Occasionally vulnerabilities may be discovered in the underlying operating system or applications that come with the operating system. These vulnerabilities often do not impact the software-only product directly but may threaten the integrity of the underlying platform.

In the case of this advisory Avaya software-only products are not affected by the vulnerability directly but the underlying Linux platform may be. Customers should determine on which Linux operating system the product was installed and then follow that vendor's guidance.

Product: Actions:
Avaya Aura® Experience Portal Depending on the Operating System installed, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the EP application.

Recommended Actions for Software-Only Products:
In the event that the affected package is installed, Avaya recommends following recommended actions supplied by Red Hat regarding their Enterprise Linux.

4. Additional Information:

Additional information may also be available via the Avaya support website and through your Avaya account representative. Please contact your Avaya product support representative, or dial 1-800-242-2121, with any questions.

5. Disclaimer:

ALL INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION AND IS PROVIDED "AS IS". AVAYA INC., ON BEHALF ITSELF AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES (HEREINAFTER COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS "AVAYA"), DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FURTHERMORE, AVAYA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE STEPS RECOMMENDED WILL ELIMINATE SECURITY OR VIRUS THREATS TO CUSTOMERS' SYSTEMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AVAYA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE INFORMATION OR RECOMMENDED ACTIONS PROVIDED HEREIN, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, STATUTORY, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF AVAYA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE DOES NOT AFFECT THE SUPPORT AGREEMENTS IN PLACE FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS. SUPPORT FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS CONTINUES TO BE EXECUTED AS PER EXISTING AGREEMENTS WITH AVAYA.

6. Revision History:

V 1.0 - August 21, 2014 - Initial Statement issued.
V 2.0 - October 27, 2017 - Updated affected versions and actions for all products and set the advisory status to Final.

Avaya customers or Business Partners should report any security issues found with Avaya products via the standard support process.
Independent security researchers can contact Avaya at [email protected].

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