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mod_python vulnerable to information disclosure via crafted URL

Vulnerability Note VU#356409

Original Release Date: 2005-02-21 | Last Revised: 2005-07-06

Overview

The Apache mod_python module is vulnerable to unintended remote information disclosure using specially crafted URLs.

Description

From the mod_python web page:

Mod_python is an Apache module that embeds the Python interpreter within the server. With mod_python you can write web-based applications in Python that will run many times faster than traditional CGI and will have access to advanced features such as ability to retain database connections and other data between hits and access to Apache internals.

The mod_python publisher, which allows Python module objects to be called in a URL, contains a subtle flaw in the request handling logic. Unintended information may be leaked by objects which are not meant to be visible.

Impact

A remote attacker may be able to craft a URL to obtain script data and information which was not meant to be visible. This could include variable names and values, object data, and more.

Solution

Obtain updated packages
mod_python has released updated packages which do not contain this flaw:

For Apache 1.3: mod_python 2.7.11(or later)
For Apache 2.0: mod_python 3.0.4 (or later)

These packages can be obtained from the mod_python download page.

A proposed workaround is to set the Apache server to block URLs containing requests that begin with "func_". This is not a definitive solution and may also hinder normal operation of the server.

Vendor Information

356409
 

CVSS Metrics

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References

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Graham Dumpleton and RedHat for reporting this vulnerability.

This document was written by Ken MacInnis.

Other Information

CVE IDs: CVE-2005-0088
Severity Metric: 1.26
Date Public: 2005-02-11
Date First Published: 2005-02-21
Date Last Updated: 2005-07-06 18:12 UTC
Document Revision: 16

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