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Red Hat 5: RHSA-2012:1036-01 Moderate: PostgreSQL Password Weakness

red hat
Calendar Grey June 25, 2012
Dist Redhat Esm H88
Red Hat has released updates for PostgreSQL packages to mitigate a moderate security vulnerability concerning password encryption.
Updated postgresql packages that fix one security issue are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

Summary

PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system (DBMS).
A flaw was found in the way the crypt() password hashing function from the optional PostgreSQL pgcrypto contrib module performed password transformation when used with the DES algorithm. If the password string to be hashed contained the 0x80 byte value, the remainder of the string was ignored when calculating the hash, significantly reducing the password strength. This made brute-force guessing more efficient as the whole password was not required to gain access to protected resources. (CVE-2012-2143)
Note: With this update, the rest of the string is properly included in the DES hash; therefore, any previously stored password values that are affected by this issue will no longer match. In such cases, it will be necessary for those stored password hashes to be updated.
Upstream acknowledges Rubin Xu and Joseph Bonneau as the original reportersof this issue.
All PostgreSQL users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue. If the postgresql service is running, it will be automatically restarted after installing this update.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory moderate security update Red Hat PostgreSQL password issue database management

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-2143 https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification#moderate

Package List

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client):
Source:
i386: postgresql-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-contrib-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-docs-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-libs-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-python-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-tcl-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm
x86_64: postgresql-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-contrib-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-docs-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-libs-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-libs-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-python-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-tcl-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm
RHEL Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client):
Source:
i386: postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-devel-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-pl-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-server-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-test-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm
x86_64: postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-debuginfo-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-devel-8.1.23-5.el5_8.i386.rpm postgresql-devel-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-pl-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm postgresql-server-8.1.23-5.el5_8.x86_64.rpm

Read the Full Advisory


Advisory ID: RHSA-2012:1036-01
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012:1036.html
Issue date: 2012-06-25

Topic

Updated postgresql packages that fix one security issue are now availablefor Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderatesecurity impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score,which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link inthe References section.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory moderate security update Red Hat PostgreSQL password issue database management

Relevant Releases Architectures

RHEL Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client) - i386, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) - i386, ia64, ppc, s390x, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) - i386, x86_64

Bugs Fixed

816956 - CVE-2012-2143 BSD crypt(): DES encrypted password weakness

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