HACKERS CAN POTENTIALLY exploit a format string vulnerability in remote wall requests in order to execute arbitrary code in Solaris, Sun Microsystems version of the Unix operating system, security experts have warned.
Sun Solaris versions 2.5.1, 2.6, 7, and 8 require a security patch to the utility rwall daemon or rpc.rwalld, the U.S.-government funded Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center (CERT/CC) at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh said in an advisory Wednesday.
The rwall daemon listens for wall requests, which are used to send messages to terminals using a time-sharing system. CERT Advisory CA-2002-10 warns that it contains a format string vulnerability that could permit a hacker to get into the system by executing code with the privileges of the rwall daemon, usually root.
Sun Microsystems, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., has confirmed that there is a problem with rpc.rwalld and is currently working on a patch to fix the hole, according to CERT.