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AWStats fails to properly filter user-supplied input

Vulnerability Note VU#272296

Original Release Date: 2005-02-10 | Last Revised: 2005-02-21

Overview

A lack of input validation in AWStats may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands.

Description

AWStats is a Perl CGI script that collects and graphically displays statistics from web, FTP, and mail servers. The configdir parameter, within the awstats.pl Perl script, is supplied user-controlled data and then passed as a parameter to the Perl routine open(). A lack of input validation on the configdir parameter may allow an attacker to compromise a vulnerable server. If an attacker supplies this parameter with arbitrary commands prefixed with the '|' character, those commands will be executed on the server.

Please note that according to public reports, this vulnerability is being actively exploited.

Impact

If a remote attacker supplies AWStats with specially crafted input, that attacker may be able to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the attacked server process, in most cases user nobody.

Solution

Upgrade

This issue has been corrected in AWStats version 6.3. Users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to this version.

Vendor Information

272296
 

CVSS Metrics

Group Score Vector
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References

Acknowledgements

This vulnerability was reported by iDEFENSE.

This document was written by Jeff Gennari.

Other Information

CVE IDs: CVE-2005-0116
Severity Metric: 13.39
Date Public: 2005-01-18
Date First Published: 2005-02-10
Date Last Updated: 2005-02-21 16:39 UTC
Document Revision: 44

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