1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-689-1

USN-689-1: Vinagre vulnerability

Publication date

10 December 2008

Overview

Vinagre vulnerability

Releases

Packages

Details

Alfredo Ortega discovered a flaw in Vinagre’s use of format strings. A
remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability if they tricked a user
into connecting to a malicious VNC server, or opening a specially crafted
URI with Vinagre. In Ubuntu 8.04, it was possible to execute arbitrary
code with user privileges. In Ubuntu 8.10, Vinagre would simply abort,
leading to a denial of service.

Alfredo Ortega discovered a flaw in Vinagre’s use of format strings. A
remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability if they tricked a user
into connecting to a malicious VNC server, or opening a specially crafted
URI with Vinagre. In Ubuntu 8.04, it was possible to execute arbitrary
code with user privileges. In Ubuntu 8.10, Vinagre would simply abort,
leading to a denial of service.

Update instructions

After a standard system upgrade you need to restart Vinagre to effect the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

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

Ubuntu Release Package Version
8.10 intrepid vinagre –  2.24.1-0ubuntu1.1
8.04 hardy vinagre –  0.5.1-0ubuntu1.1

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References

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