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Comments
Bash Bug May Be Worse Than Heartbleed
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paulvixie
paulvixie,
 User Rank: Author
9/26/2014 | 3:26:11 PM
on mac/os-x and redhat and older debian, bash is used as /bin/sh, and this matters
someone here said that this only hurt cgi-bin's written in bash, and that's not always true. if you are on a redhat or apple or older debian system where bash is used as /bin/sh, then libc will be using bash to execute commands, and this includes apache's CGI data path. libc popen(), system(), execlp(), and execvp() are defined to use the /bin/sh interface. so you could be using bash for a lot of things you didn't know about -- certainly that's how the shellshock day 1 botnet was created, not by finding CGI scripts written in bash, but by finding Apache servers where /bin/sh is bash. of which there are millions.
securityaffairs
securityaffairs,
 User Rank: Ninja
9/26/2014 | 9:28:33 AM
It's critical for IoT devices
The impact of the Bash Bug flaw is critical and worse than Heartbleed because it is quite easy exploitable.

Another element to consider is that while servers are easy to patch, there is a serious impact for those it (Internet of Things) devices are poorly configured and that is not possible to update in a short time for various reasons.

 
TalKlein
TalKlein,
 User Rank: Author
9/25/2014 | 6:25:19 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
Totally agree WRT "Defcon 1".. Especially since there's very little most consumers can do other than wait for vendors to make patches available. It's like not I can tell my mom to go patch bash on her home router :)

I don't know how we solve for that problem. I wish the press would do a better job of communicating risk to the public. But we've become a culture of rubberneckers.
AnonymousMan
AnonymousMan,
 User Rank: Moderator
9/25/2014 | 5:55:05 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
I'm not even arguing that it's not a BFD.  I just think the press needs to come down from defcon 1.  Yes, there are very specific situations where this could matter a lot.  CGI programs that invoke the shell are clearly the biggest concern. GIT and other source code management platforms (any shared Linux environment really) may very well be another, because of the SSH forcecommand issue.  However, attacker still needs a login and still needs to escalate privs.  One would hope that steps are taken in a shared Linux environment to secure against this specific risk.

 

 
TalKlein
TalKlein,
 User Rank: Author
9/25/2014 | 5:26:20 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
Again, if I can do a remote code execution by using something as simple as git, I don't see why you don't see that as a BFD. IMO Heartbleed was a listening/impersonation problem, whereas the ramifications of this are much greater in the context of its ease of exploitation. I have zero skin in this game FUD-wise. If you don't take my word for it, take CERT's. 
AnonymousMan
AnonymousMan,
 User Rank: Moderator
9/25/2014 | 5:22:33 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
So you pointed out an exploit that looks for vulnerable CGI programs and then fetches a kernel exploit.  It's still looking for vulnerable CGI programs. I'm not trying to suggest this isn't an important vulnerability, but let's stop with the FUD. The number of network calls that result in invocation of a bash shell is relatively limited. Comparing this to Heartbleed at this point and using language like the press has been is just not constructive. CNN..."At its most basic, it lets someone hack every device in your house, business or government building".  Geez.  I think the most significant vector could be DHCP, but I haven't heard anyone suggest that the typical devices that might get DHCP from an untrusted server are impacted (e.g. Android, iOS, etc).
TalKlein
TalKlein,
 User Rank: Author
9/25/2014 | 4:38:52 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
Here's the simple fact, folks: Remote code execution is pretty much the most dangerous class of vulnerability you're going to find. It's not just about CGI, I've been able to do some gnarly stuff with git in my lab, and others have done much much worse. 
aws0513
aws0513,
 User Rank: Ninja
9/25/2014 | 3:37:02 PM
Re: Worse than heartbleed?
Although I agree the risk factor compared to Heartbleed may not be the same, the broad distribution of systems that have GNU BASH as part of the platform is likely quite broad.
Even if the systems are not currently calling BASH via cgi-bin or any other known vulnerable configuration, every effort should be made to ensure that the vulnerability cannot become a problem in the future.
It is also likely that the dust isn't completely settled in this regard.  Vendors may still be assessing impact on their product platforms and/or developing patches.  I expect several patches for some of our appliance devices that utilize *nix platforms.
AnonymousMan
AnonymousMan,
 User Rank: Moderator
9/25/2014 | 2:38:54 PM
Worse than heartbleed?
That's a huge stretch. Can someone name a few significant products that are anonymously and remotely exploitable without a patch? You know, like Juniper VPN, etc? Apache is NOT vulnerable, some CGI scripts MIGHT be, but only if they call the shell.
aws0513
aws0513,
 User Rank: Ninja
9/25/2014 | 2:28:39 PM
It's been a day
So...  Mentioned this vulnerability to a non-technical manager when I passed him in the hall.
He said "Bash? Is that some kind of video game?"
My response "I wish it were that simple."

:-)


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