USN-1765-1: Apache HTTP Server vulnerabilities

18 March 2013

Several security issues were fixed in the Apache HTTP Server.

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Releases

Packages

Details

Niels Heinen discovered that multiple modules incorrectly sanitized certain
strings, which could result in browsers becoming vulnerable to cross-site
scripting attacks when processing the output. With cross-site scripting
vulnerabilities, if a user were tricked into viewing server output during a
crafted server request, a remote attacker could exploit this to modify the
contents, or steal confidential data (such as passwords), within the same
domain. (CVE-2012-3499, CVE-2012-4558)

It was discovered that the mod_proxy_ajp module incorrectly handled error
states. A remote attacker could use this issue to cause the server to stop
responding, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only applied to
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and Ubuntu 11.10. (CVE-2012-4557)

It was discovered that the apache2ctl script shipped in Ubuntu packages
incorrectly created the lock directory. A local attacker could possibly use
this issue to gain privileges. The symlink protections in Ubuntu 11.10 and
later should reduce this vulnerability to a denial of service.
(CVE-2013-1048)

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

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Update instructions

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu 8.04
Ubuntu 12.10
Ubuntu 12.04
Ubuntu 11.10
Ubuntu 10.04

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.