Linux and Unix vendors are releasing fixes for a critical bug in the popular Web server Apache that could allow attackers to crash the system or execute malicious code.
The bug affects Apache 1.3.x installations configured to act as proxy servers, which relay requests between a Web browser and the Internet. When a vulnerable server connects to a malicious site, a specially-crafted packet can be used to exploit the vulnerability, according to security researcher Georgi Guninski, who has publicly released exploit code.
The bug is most serious on BSD installations, where it may allow code execution, while on other platforms the most likely effect is a system crash, researchers said. A reference in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database can be found here.
Guninski released information about the proxy-server bug earlier this month, and last month discovered a similar vulnerability in an Apache component offering Secure Sockets Layer encryption, but he said the bugs don't reflect on Apache's overall security relative to competitors such as Microsoft's Internet Information Services. "Still Apache is much better than Windows," he said in an advisory.
Debian released a patch for the bug on Monday, and Gentoo Linux released its own patch last week. Red Hat Inc., OpenBSD and OpenPKG have also released updates fixing the bug, while Novell Inc.'s Suse Linux said in an advisory last week it is testing a patch. Researchers said Apple's BSD-based Mac OS X is likely affected, but Apple has not yet released a patch.
Apache versions 1.3.31, 1.3.29, 1.3.28, 1.3.27 and 1.3.26 are affected, while the bug has been fixed in 1.3.32-dev, according to security experts. System administrators can also get around the problem by switching off Apache's proxy-server module.
"If I were running a BSD system, I would be very careful with this," said Thomas Kristensen, CTO of Secunia, which maintains a database tracking vulnerability advisories. "It's important to note that the potential for code execution has not been proven to be exploitable, but it pays to be safe." BSD is frequently used by Web hosting companies, he said.
Kristensen said that despite the recent bugs, Apache's security is solid overall. Both Apache and IIS have been so thoroughly studied that few vulnerabilities are now discovered in their core components, he said - with both servers, problems are now mostly found in extensions such as mod_ssl and mod_proxy. "It's pretty solid as long as you remember to configure it correctly and to disable the extensions that are not necessary for your business," Kristensen said.
The bug in Apache's mod_proxy module means that a negative user-specified length value may be used in a memory copy operation, leading to corruption of memory and a buffer overflow. The exploit can take effect when a remote server sends a negative Content-Length: HTTP header field to the proxy server.
The proxy bug is the sixth vulnerability in Apache 1.3.x reported this year, according to Secunia, which has recorded 10 such advisories in 2003 and 2004. Half of these were moderately or highly critical, usually meaning they allowed remote access to the system or denial of service. For comparison, IIS 5.x also had 10 advisories in the same period, 40 percent of which were highly or extremely critical, Secunia said.
In 2002, the Slapper worm took advantage of a month-old bug in Apache's mod_ssl component, causing widespread disruption.