Re: response to the bugtraq report of buffer overruns in imapd LIST command

[MRC () CAC WASHINGTON EDU (Mark Crispin)]

Can we please avoid hyperbole (such as "Seattle disease"), and discuss the
facts rationally?

1) There is no added vulnerability at all for a UNIX system which permits
   shell access.  I don't have sufficient data to know what percentage of UW
   imapd sites run IMAP servers on top of shell UNIX systems as opposed to
   closed systems.

2) The impact of the problem is that an authorized user may obtain
   unauthorized shell access to a closed system.  Unless the system also has
   other, more severe, security problems, the consequences are modest and it
   is not difficult to identify the perpetrator.

3) A closed system which uses UW imapd probably is going to modify it in any
   case.  Among other things, access to unmodified UW imapd is essentially
   equivalent to access to FTP.  UW imapd is designed for use in a more or
   less cooperative environment in which the primary focus is denying access
   to unauthorized users.  We have never claimed that unmodified UW imapd is
   immune to mischief by authorized users.

The final form of the CHROOT_SERVER code, which will be an option in the next
distributed version, consists of:
  if (chroot (home ? home : ANONYMOUSHOME)) return NIL;
  home = "/";
And, yes, this will do the necessary chdir().

I will also look into what else needs to be done for this particular problem.
I would have done so anyway.  Nevertheless, the response to a bug needs to be
measured compared to the impact.  Unlike a root-compromise bug, the sky is not
going to fall for the overwhelming majority of UW imapd sites.  Just a little
bit less hyperbole would go a long way towards creating a useful discussion.

Last but not least, I am very interested in Kris Kennaway's claim that "It may
also be possible to break out of the chroot jail on some platforms."  If true,
it represents a huge root-level security hole on those platforms.  I simply do
not believe the claim.  I would like to know if there is some substance to
this claim, or if it was mere speculation.