Mountd Vulnerabilities
CVE 1999-0002
Impact
A vulnerability in mountd could allow a
remote attacker to cause a buffer to overflow, and to use the
resulting condition to execute arbitrary code with root
privileges.
Background
Network File System (NFS) is a service
which allows a server to make file systems available to
clients. The clients can mount NFS file systems
and make them available locally. mountd is the
process on the server which handles requests from clients to
mount file systems.
The Problem
Some versions of mountd on Linux operating
systems have a buffer overflow
condition which could allow a remote attacker to gain root
access. Other operating systems are not affected.
Resolution
If the system is not being used as an NFS
server, then disable the mountd process.
Otherwise, install a patch to fix the vulnerability.
Check
CERT Advisory 98.12 for information about obtaining patches
for your particular version of Linux.
Where can I read more about this?
More about this vulnerability can be found in
CERT Advisory 98.12.