ncompress security update (RHSA-2006-0663)

Original Release Date: Oct 12, 2006
Last Revised: May 28, 2009
Number: ASA-2006-226
Risk Level: Low
Advisory Version: 2.0
Advisory Status: Interim

1. Overview:

The ncompress package contains file compression and decompression utilities, which are compatible with the original UNIX compress utility (.Z file extensions).

Tavis Ormandy of the Google Security Team discovered a lack of bounds checking in ncompress. An attacker could create a carefully crafted file that could execute arbitrary code if uncompressed by a victim. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2006-1168 to this issue.

In addition, two bugs that affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 ncompress packages were fixed:

* The display statistics and compression results in verbose mode were not shown when operating on zero length files.

* An attempt to compress zero length files resulted in an unexpected return code.

More information about these vulnerabilities can be found in the security advisory issued by RedHat Linux:

2. Avaya System Products with ncompress installed:

Product: Affected Version(s): Risk Level: Actions:
Avaya Communication Manager CM 2.x Low Upgrade to CM 4.0 or later.
Avaya Intuity AUDIX LX All Low Will not be addressed since no further releases of IALX are planned.
Avaya Message Networking All Low See recommended actions below.  This issue will be addressed in accordance with section five of Avaya's Product Security Vulnerability Response Policy

Recommended Actions:
Avaya strongly recommends that customers follow 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's product and the surrounding network from this potential vulnerability may be mitigated by ensuring these practices are implemented until such time as a product update is available. Further restrictions as deemed necessary based on the customer's security policies may be required during this interim period.

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:
CVLAN Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the CVLAN application.
Avaya Integrated Management Suite (IMS) Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the IMS application.
Voice Portal Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the Voice Portal application.
AES 4.x Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the AES application.

Recommended Actions:
In the event that the affected package is installed, Avaya recommends that customers follow recommended actions supplied by RedHat 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 - Oct 12, 2006 - Initial Statement issued.
V 2.0 - May 28, 2009 - Updated CM and IALX Actions.

Send information regarding any discovered security problems with Avaya products to either the contact noted in the product's documentation or [email protected].

© 2009 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks identified by the ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.