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Network Intrusion Prevention Systems – When They’re Valuable, and When
They’re Not and When They’re Not
By: Daniel Miessler
Anyone keeping track of the security vendor/technology hype knows that IPS has quickly replaced IDS as the "next big thing". Depending on who you are, you may chalk this up to yet another infosec fad, or you could be of the opinion that IPS is actually making good on the promises that IDS never lived up to. I think it can be both – depending on your situation.
What NIPS Isn’t
First and foremost, NIPS is not a tool for stopping elite crackers. That may be how it’s being marketed, but it’s crap. If you’re the type to fall for that sort of hype then you’re probably in a lot more danger than any given technology can help you with.
Whether or not IPS is worthless or a godsend to your organization hinges on a single question – "How good is your organization at staying patched?" This is the single question that organizations need to be asking themselves when considering network intrusion prevention technology.
The reason this question matters is because of the fact that NIPS only protects you against vulnerabilities that you can mitigate by applying patches and/or implementing other controls. If you are a relatively small organization with a highly technical administrative/security staff that keeps your systems constantly patched and locked down, a network IPS can’t offer you much of anything. Despite claims to the contrary, a network IPS system is about as good at stopping zero-day attacks as wordpad.exe.
Remember, stout security teams knows their systems. They read advisories daily and know what’s in the wild and what’s likely to be there soon. A team like this can more than likely patch their systems and/or mitigate the risk to their organization in other ways before a NIPS vendor can release a signature for their product. The benefit gained from someone blocking exploits at the perimeter at that point is virtually null. In short, anything that’s going to compromise a fully patched and locked down system is going to walk right through a NIPS as well.
Read Entire Article:
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Thank you for reading the LinuxSecurity.com weekly security newsletter. The purpose of this document is to provide our readers with a quick summary of each week's most relevant Linux security headline.
| Debian | ||
| Debian: New cacti packages fix several vulnerabilities | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Several vulnerabilities have been discovered in cacti, a round-robin database (RRD) tool that helps create graphs from database information. advisories/debian/debian-new-cacti-packages-fix-several-vulnerabilities-10204 |
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| Debian: New webcalendar package fixes information disclosure | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/debian/debian-new-webcalendar-package-fixes-information-disclosure |
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| Debian: New heimdal packages fix arbitrary code execution | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/debian/debian-new-heimdal-packages-fix-arbitrary-code-execution-70803 |
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| Debian: New ekg packages fix arbitrary code execution | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/debian/debian-new-ekg-packages-fix-arbitrary-code-execution |
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| Debian: New phpbb2 packages fix cross-site scripting | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/debian/debian-new-phpbb2-packages-fix-cross-site-scripting |
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| Fedora | ||
| Fedora Core 4 Update: setarch-1.8-1.FC4 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Bugfix package release. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-setarch-18-1fc4-11-27-00-119842 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: openoffice.org-1.9.117-3.1.0.fc4 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated package released. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-openofficeorg-19117-310fc4-11-28-00-119843 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: pvm-3.4.5-5_FC3 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated package released. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-pvm-345-5fc3-12-15-00-119844 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: pvm-3.4.5-5_FC4 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated package released. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-pvm-345-5fc4-12-15-00-119845 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: fetchmail-6.2.5-7.fc4.1 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
A buffer overflow was discovered in fetchmail's POP3 client. A malicious server could cause fetchmail to execute arbitrary code. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project has assigned the name CAN-2005-2355 to this issue. All fetchmail users should upgrade to the updated package, which fixes this issue. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-fetchmail-625-7fc41-14-17-00-119846 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: fetchmail-6.2.5-7.fc3.1 | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
A buffer overflow was discovered in fetchmail's POP3 client. A malicious server could cause fetchmail to execute arbitrary code. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project has assigned the name CAN-2005-2355 to this issue. All fetchmail users should upgrade to the updated package, which fixes this issue. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-fetchmail-625-7fc31-14-18-00-119847 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: mozilla-1.7.10-1.3.1 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Package repairs various vulnerabilities. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-mozilla-1710-131-00-03-00-119853 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: epiphany-1.4.4-4.3.5 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
There were several security flaws found in the mozilla package, which epiphany depends on. Users of epiphany are advised to upgrade to this updated package which has been rebuilt against a version of mozilla not vulnerable to these flaws. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-epiphany-144-435-00-04-00-119854 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: devhelp-0.9.2-2.3.5 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
There were several security flaws found in the mozilla package, which devhelp depends on. Users of devhelp are advised to upgrade to this updated package which has been rebuilt against a version of mozilla not vulnerable to these flaws. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-devhelp-092-235-00-04-00-119855 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: mozilla-1.7.10-1.5.1 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Package repairs various vulnerabilities. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-mozilla-1710-151-00-05-00-119856 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: epiphany-1.6.3-2 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
There were several security flaws found in the mozilla package, which epiphany depends on. Users of epiphany are advised to upgrade to this updated package which has been rebuilt against a version of mozilla not vulnerable to these flaws. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-epiphany-163-2-00-06-00-119857 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: devhelp-0.10-1.4.1 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
There were several security flaws found in the mozilla package, which devhelp depends on. Users of devhelp are advised to upgrade to this updated package which has been rebuilt against a version of mozilla not vulnerable to these flaws. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-devhelp-010-141-00-06-00-119858 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: yelp-2.10.0-1.4.1 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
There were several security flaws found in the mozilla package, which yelp depends on. Users of yelp are advised to upgrade to this updated package which has been rebuilt against a version of mozilla not vulnerable to these flaws. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-yelp-2100-141-00-07-00-119859 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: subversion-1.2.1-2.1 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
This update contains the latest release of Subversion. Subversion 1.2 adds support for locking (reserved checkouts), and includes many bug fixes and improvements. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-subversion-121-21-13-10-00-119866 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: zlib-1.2.2.2-5.fc4 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Fix zlib buffer overflow. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-zlib-1222-5fc4-13-10-00-119867 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: zlib-1.2.1.2-3.fc3 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Fix zlib buffer overflow. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-zlib-1212-3fc3-13-11-00-119868 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: kdenetwork-3.4.1-0.fc4.2 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Multiple integer overflow flaws were found in the way Kopete processes Gadu-Gadu messages. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted Gadu-Gadu message which would cause Kopete to crash or possibly execute arbitrary code. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-kdenetwork-341-0fc42-13-12-00-119869 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: kdenetwork-3.3.1-3.2 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Multiple integer overflow flaws were found in the way Kopete processes Gadu-Gadu messages. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted Gadu-Gadu message which would cause Kopete to crash or possibly execute arbitrary code. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-kdenetwork-331-32-13-13-00-119870 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: perl-5.8.5-14.FC3 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Paul Szabo discovered another vulnerability in the File::Path::rmtree function of perl, the popular scripting language. When a process is deleting a directory tree, a different user could exploit a race condition to create setuid binaries in this directory tree, provided that he already had write permissions in any subdirectory of that tree. Perl interpreter would cause a segmentation fault when environment changes during the runtime. Code in lib/FindBin contained a regression which caused problems with MRTG software package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-perl-585-14fc3-13-13-00-119871 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: module-init-tools-3.1-4 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
This fixes a crash in depmod when encountering certain misbuilt modules. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-module-init-tools-31-4-17-32-00-119872 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: mgetty-1.1.31-3_FC3 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-mgetty-1131-3fc3-21-57-00-119874 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: system-config-netboot-0.1.22-1_FC4 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-system-config-netboot-0122-1fc4-21-58-00-119875 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: system-config-netboot-0.1.22-1_FC3 | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Update package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-system-config-netboot-0122-1fc3-21-58-00-119876 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: setools-2.1.1-2 | ||
| 24th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-setools-211-2-22-15-00-119880 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: nfs-utils-1.0.7-10 | ||
| 24th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-nfs-utils-107-10-22-16-00-119881 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: libsepol-1.5.10-1.1 | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-libsepol-1510-11-10-01-00-119889 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: gnbd-kernel-2.6.11.2-20050420.133124.FC4.43 | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-gnbd-kernel-26112-20050420133124fc443-16-37-00-119894 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: dlm-kernel-2.6.11.5-20050601.152643.FC4.10 | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-dlm-kernel-26115-20050601152643fc410-16-37-00-119895 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: cman-kernel-2.6.11.5-20050601.152643.FC4.9 | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-cman-kernel-26115-20050601152643fc49-16-38-00-119896 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: GFS-kernel-2.6.11.8-20050601.152643.FC4.9 | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-gfs-kernel-26118-20050601152643fc49-16-39-00-119897 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: gnome-panel-2.10.1-10.2 | ||
| 26th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-gnome-panel-2101-102-12-16-00-119902 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: system-config-printer-0.6.131.3-1 | ||
| 26th, July, 2005
This release fixes an unwanted interaction with SELinux when writing configuration files, and adds preliminary support for a future HPLIP package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-system-config-printer-061313-1-12-17-00-119903 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: util-linux-2.12a-24.4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-util-linux-212a-244-13-53-00-119920 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: tar-1.15.1-7.FC4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-tar-1151-7fc4-13-54-00-119921 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: tar-1.14-5.FC3 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-tar-114-5fc3-13-54-00-119922 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: util-linux-2.12p-9.7 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-util-linux-212p-97-13-55-00-119923 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: gcc-4.0.1-4.fc4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-gcc-401-4fc4-13-56-00-119924 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: libtool-1.5.16.multilib2-2 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
This update needs to accompany gcc-4.0.1 update. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-libtool-1516multilib2-2-13-56-00-119925 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: gcc-3.4.4-2.fc3 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-gcc-344-2fc3-13-57-00-119926 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: system-config-bind-4.0.0-20_FC4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-system-config-bind-400-20fc4-14-10-00-119927 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: system-config-bind-4.0.0-20 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-system-config-bind-400-20-14-10-00-119928 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: mgetty-1.1.33-3_FC4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-mgetty-1133-3fc4-14-11-00-119929 |
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: mgetty-1.1.31-4_FC3 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated package. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-3-update-mgetty-1131-4fc3-14-12-00-119930 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: apr-0.9.6-3.1 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
This update includes an updated libtool script to synchronize with the gcc 4.0.1 update. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-apr-096-31-14-38-00-119931 |
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| Fedora Core 4 Update: audit-0.9.19-2.FC4 | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
This update quietens some error messages, fixes support for long file names, and allows 32 bit machines to search in logs created by 64 bit kernel. advisories/fedora/fedora-core-4-update-audit-0919-2fc4-14-39-00-119932 |
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| Gentoo | ||
| Gentoo: zlib Buffer overflow | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
zlib is vulnerable to a buffer overflow which could potentially lead to execution of arbitrary code. |
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| Gentoo: Shorewall Security policy bypass | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
A vulnerability in Shorewall allows clients authenticated by MAC address filtering to bypass all other security rules. |
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| Gentoo: Mozilla Thunderbird Multiple vulnerabilities | ||
| 24th, July, 2005
Several vulnerabilities in Mozilla Thunderbird allow attacks ranging from execution of script code with elevated privileges to information leak. |
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| Gentoo: pam_ldap and nss_ldap Plain text authentication | ||
| 24th, July, 2005
pam_ldap and nss_ldap fail to restart TLS when following a referral, possibly leading to credentials being sent in plain text. |
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| Gentoo: fetchmail Buffer Overflow | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
fetchmail is susceptible to a buffer overflow resulting in a Denial of Service or arbitrary code execution. |
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| Gentoo: sandbox Insecure temporary file handling | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
The sandbox utility may create temporary files in an insecure manner. |
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| Gentoo: Kopete Vulnerability in included Gadu library | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Kopete is vulnerable to several input validation vulnerabilities which may lead to execution of arbitrary code. |
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| Gentoo: Mozilla Suite Multiple vulnerabilities | ||
| 26th, July, 2005
Several vulnerabilities in the Mozilla Suite allow attacks ranging from the execution of javascript code with elevated privileges to information leakage. |
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| Gentoo: Clam AntiVirus Integer overflows | ||
| 26th, July, 2005
Clam AntiVirus is vulnerable to integer overflows when handling several file formats, potentially resulting in the execution of arbitrary code. |
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| Gentoo: GNU Gadu, CenterICQ, Kadu, EKG, libgadu Remote code execution in Gadu library | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
GNU Gadu, CenterICQ, Kadu, EKG and libgadu are vulnerable to an integer overflow which could potentially lead to the execution of arbitrary code or a Denial of Service. |
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| Gentoo: Ethereal Multiple vulnerabilities | ||
| 28th, July, 2005
Ethereal is vulnerable to numerous vulnerabilities potentially resulting in the execution of arbitrary code or abnormal termination. |
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| Red Hat | ||
| RedHat: Important: firefox security update | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
An updated firefox package that fixes various security bugs is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-important-firefox-security-update-89533 |
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| RedHat: Low: cpio security update | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
An updated cpio package that fixes multiple issues is now available. This update has been rated as having low security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-low-cpio-security-update-84799 |
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| RedHat: Important: zlib security update | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated zlib packages that fix a buffer overflow are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-important-zlib-security-update-73777 |
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| RedHat: Important: thunderbird security update | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated thunderbird package that fixes various bugs is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-important-thunderbird-security-update-66245 |
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| RedHat: Critical: kdenetwork security update | ||
| 21st, July, 2005
Updated kdenetwork packages to correct a security flaw in Kopete are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This update has been rated as having critical security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-critical-kdenetwork-security-update-RHSA-2005-639-01 |
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| RedHat: Important: mozilla security update | ||
| 22nd, July, 2005
Updated mozilla packages that fix various security issues are now available. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-important-mozilla-security-update-5331 |
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| RedHat: Moderate: httpd security update | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated Apache httpd packages to correct two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4. This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-moderate-httpd-security-update-87284 |
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| RedHat: Important: fetchmail security update | ||
| 25th, July, 2005
Updated fetchmail packages that fix a security flaw are now available. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-important-fetchmail-security-update-RHSA-2005-640-01 |
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| RedHat: Moderate: dhcpcd security update | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
An updated dhcpcd package that fixes a denial of service issue is now available. This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-moderate-dhcpcd-security-update-RHSA-2005-603-01 |
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| RedHat: Moderate: kdelibs security update | ||
| 27th, July, 2005
Updated kdelibs packages are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. advisories/red-hat/redhat-moderate-kdelibs-security-update-69675 |
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