—+ Security Alert: Code injection vulnerability in MAKETEXT macro,
Denial of Service vulnerability in MAKETEXT macro.

This advisory alerts you of a potential security issue with your Foswiki
installation. A vulnerability has been reported against the core Perl
module CPAN:Locale::Maketext, which Foswiki uses to provide translations
when {UserInterfaceInternationalization} is enabled in the
configuration. Because of this vulnerability it may be possible for a
user to run arbitrary shell commands and code on the server through a
crafted %MAKETEXT% macro. If your wiki allows commenting by users
without first logging in, then it may be possible for such an anonymous
user to exploit this vulnerability.

—++ Severity Level

Severity 1 issue: The web server can be compromised
The severity level was assigned by the Foswiki
Community.SecurityTaskTeam as documented in Development.SecurityAlertProcess

—++ Vulnerable Software Versions

All released versions of Foswiki are vulnerable to these issues

• Foswiki 1.0.0 - 1.0.10
• Foswiki 1.1.0 - 1.1.6

—++ MITRE Name for this Vulnerability

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project has assigned the name
CVE-2012-6329 to this vulnerability, see
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-6329
CVE-2012-6330 was assigned to the Denial of Service vulnerability, see
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-6330

—++ Attack Vectors

Editing wiki pages and HTTP POST requests towards a Foswiki server with
enabled localization (typically port 80/TCP). Typically, prior
authentication is necessary.

A crafted %MAKETEXT{}% macro will pass through strings to
Locale::Maketext where they are executed under the control of the CGI
user on the server. Any user with the authority to edit a topic,
comment on a topic, or execute the Foswiki rendering code (eg. The
RenderPlugin) can take advantage of the vulnerability. (CVE-2012-6329)

A crafted %MAKETEXT{}% macro will consume large amounts of memory and
exhaust swap space. (CVE-2012-6330)

—++ Impact

Arbitrary code execution on the server can expose the file system.

A second less severe Denial of Service vulnerability is also addressed
by this alert.

—++ Details

A crafted %MAKETEXT{}% macro can cause multiple issues:

• Execute arbitrary code on the server by passing unsanitized strings
  to Locale::Maketext.
• Consume memory and swap space resulting in potential lockup or
  crash due to %<nop>MAKETEXT{}% not validating the parameter numbers
  supplied in the [_nnn] tokens.
• Cause an exception within Foswiki, also due to invalid parameters
  in [_nnn] tokens

—++ Countermeasures

One of the following should be done as soon as possible.

• Manually Apply hotfix (see patch below). or
• Apply the
  [[Extensions.PatchItem12285Contrib][http://foswiki.org/Extensions/PatchItem12285Contrib]]
  to your Foswiki 1.1.x system (Does not apply to Foswiki 1.0.x) or
• Disable {UserInerfaceInternationalization} in your LocalSite.cfg
  (Does not protect against [[SecurityAlert-CVE-2012-6330]]) or
• The foswiki debian package has already been updated with the hotfix

• use your preferred package management tool to update to foswiki 1.1.6-2

In addition, CPAN:Locale::Maketext version 1.23 or newer should be
installed.

Upgrade to the latest patched production Download.FoswikiRelease01x01x07
once released

The Foswiki patch fixes other issues with the %MAKETEXT% macro beyond
the code execution issue. Even if the new Locale::Maketext is installed,
it is strongly recommended to apply the Foswiki patch.

—++ Hotfix for Foswiki Release 1.1.0 - 1.1.6

Install http://foswiki.org/Extensions.PatchItem12285Contrib and verify
that the patch has been applied to lib/Foswiki/Macros/MAKETEXT.pm. The
extension will attempt to apply two patches, and should report that 1
file was patched. Only one of the patches will match your system. This
patch fixes both CVE-2012-6329 CVE-2012-6330.

> Running Post-install exit for PatchItem12285Contrib…
> Processing /var/www/data/Foswiki-1.1.1/working/configure/patch/Item12285-001.patch
> …
> MD5 Matched - applying patch version Foswiki 1.1.0 - 1.1.2.
> Update successful for /var/www/data/Foswiki-1.1.0/lib/Foswiki/Macros/MAKETEXT.pm
> .
> 1 file patched
> …
> Processing /var/www/data/Foswiki-1.1.1/working/configure/patch/Item12285-002.patch
> …
> No files matched patch signatures

On a properly patched system, %MAKETEXT{" [_101] "}% should return an
error.
> Excessive parameter number 101, MAKETEXT rejected.

Note that this Contrib will also install the
Extensions.PatchFoswikiContrib as a prerequisite. PatchFoswikiContrib
patches the Extensions installer to accept the new style version strings
used for modules released as of 1.1.6.

—++ Hotfix for Foswiki Archived Release 1.0.0-1.0.10

This patch fixes both [[SecurityAlert-CVE-2012-6329]] and
[[SecurityAlert-CVE-2012-6330]].

This release should be manually patched.

In Foswiki.pm, in the sub MAKETEXT

============ vvv CUT vvv =============
— Foswiki.pm 2010-01-17 09:16:20.000000000 -0500
+++ Foswiki.pm 2012-12-10 10:06:37.389129654 -0500
@@ -4200,6 +4200,9 @@
$str =~
s/~\[(\*,\_(\d+),[^,]+(,([^,]+))?)~\]/ $max = $2 if ($2 > $max); "[$1]"/ge;

• return "Illegal parameter number" if ($max > 100);
• $str =~ s#\\#\\\\#g;

• get the args to be interpolated.

  my $argsStr = $params->{args} || "";

============ —CUT— =============

—++ Manual patch for Foswiki Release 1.1.0 -> 1.1.6

Installing the Extensions.PatchItem12285Contrib is the best way to patch
your system - you can however see the patch we apply here. This patch
fixes both [[SecurityAlert-CVE-2012-6329]] and
[[SecurityAlert-CVE-2012-6330]]:

============ vvv CUT vvv =============
— lib/Foswiki/Macros/MAKETEXT.pm 2012-12-11 10:51:12.959268829 -0500
+++ lib/Foswiki/Macros/MAKETEXT.pm 2012-12-11 10:37:31.674486503 -0500
@@ -4,9 +4,19 @@
use strict;
use warnings;
+use Locale::Maketext;
+my $escape =

• ( $Foswiki::cfg{UserInterfaceInternationalisation}

•  && $Locale::Maketext::VERSION
  

•  && $Locale::Maketext::VERSION < 1.23 );
  

sub MAKETEXT {
my ( $this, $params ) = @_;

• my $max;
• my $min;
• my $param_error;
• my $str = $params->{_DEFAULT} || $params->{string} || "";
  return "" unless $str;
  @@ -18,15 +28,22 @@
  $str =~ s/\[/~[/g;
  $str =~ s/\]/~]/g;
• $max = 0;
• $min = 1;
• $param_error = 0;

• unescape parameters and calculate highest parameter number:

• my $max = 0;
• $str =~ s/~\[(\_(\d+))~\]/ $max = $2 if ($2 > $max); "[$1]"/ge;

• $str =~ s/~\[(\(\d+))~\]/validate($1, $2, $max, $min,
  $param_error)/ge;
  $str =~
  -s/~\[(\*,\(\d+),[^,]+(,([^,]+))?)~\]/ $max = $2 if ($2 > $max); "[$1]"/ge;
  +s/~\[(\*,\(\d+),[^,]+(,([^,]+))?)~\]/ _validate($1, $2, $max, $min,
  $param_error)/ge;
• return $str if ($param_error);

  get the args to be interpolated.

  my $argsStr = $params->{args} || "";

• Escape any escapes.

• $str =~ s#\\#\\\\#g if ($escape); # escape any escapes
• my @args = split( /\s*,\s*/, $argsStr );
  # fill omitted args with empty strings
  @@ -47,6 +64,26 @@
  return $result;
  }
  +sub _validate {
• #my ( $contents, $number, $max, $min, $param_error ) = @_
• $[2] = $[1] if ( $[1] > $[2] ); # Record maximum param number
• $[3] = $[1] if ( $[1] < $[3] ); # Record minimum param number
• if ( $_[1] > 100 ) {

•    $_[4] = 1;                         # Set error flag
  

•    return
  

+"<span class=\"foswikiAlert\">Excessive parameter number $_[2],
MAKETEXT rejected.</span>";

• }
• if ( $_[1] < 1 ) {

•    $_[4] = 1;                         # Set error flag
  

•    return
  

+"<span class=\"foswikiAlert\">Invalid parameter <code>\"$_[0]\"</code>,
MAKETEXT rejected.</span>";

• }
• return "[$_[0]]"; # Return the complete bracket parameter
  without escapes
  +}

1;
END
Foswiki - The Free and Open Source Wiki, http://foswiki.org/

============ ^^^ CUT ^^^ =============

—++ Action Plan with Timeline

• 2012-12-05 - The Locale::Maketext vulnerability was discussed on
  the Perl5Porters email list, triggered review of Foswiki code.
• 2012-12-05 - Patched version (1.23) of Locale::Maketext is released.
• 2012-12-08 - The [_999999] DoS issue identified and sent to foswiki
  security list.
• 2012-12-09 - The "remote execution" vulnerability in
  Locale::Maketext was confirmed on Foswiki.
• 2012-12-09 - Requested the CVE from [email protected].
• 2012-12-09 - TWiki notified of the Vulnerability.
• 2012-12-10 - Developer fixes code (George Clark) and security team
  validates the fixes.
• 2012-12-10 - Extensions.PatchItem12285Contrib released for Foswiki
  1.1.x
• 2012-12-10 - Security team creates advisory with hotfix.
  Announcement delayed for coordination with TWiki (George Clark)
• 2012-12-12 - Updated Debian packages released (Sven Dowideit)
• 2012-12-12 - Send alert to foswiki-announce and foswiki-discuss
  mailing lists ( )
• 2012-12-14 - Publish advisory in Support web and update all related
  topics ( )
• 2012-12-14 - Reference to public advisory on Download page and
  Known Issues ( )
• 2012-xx-xx - Release Manager builds patch release ( )
• 2012-xx-xx - Issue a public security advisory ([email protected],
  [email protected], [email protected],
  [email protected], [email protected]) ( )