USN-834-1: PostgreSQL vulnerabilities

Ubuntu Security Notice USN-834-1

21st September, 2009

postgresql-8.1, postgresql-8.3 vulnerabilities

A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

  • Ubuntu 9.04
  • Ubuntu 8.10
  • Ubuntu 8.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu 6.06 LTS

Software description

  • postgresql-8.1
  • postgresql-8.3

Details

It was discovered that PostgreSQL could be made to unload and reload an
already loaded module by using the LOAD command. A remote authenticated
attacker could exploit this to cause a denial of service. This issue did
not affect Ubuntu 6.06 LTS. (CVE-2009-3229)

Due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2007-6600, RESET ROLE and RESET SESSION
AUTHORIZATION operations were allowed inside security-definer functions. A
remote authenticated attacker could exploit this to escalate privileges
within PostgreSQL. (CVE-2009-3230)

It was discovered that PostgreSQL did not properly perform LDAP
authentication under certain circumstances. When configured to use LDAP
with anonymous binds, a remote attacker could bypass authentication by
supplying an empty password. This issue did not affect Ubuntu 6.06 LTS.
(CVE-2009-3231)

Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 9.04:
postgresql-8.3 8.3.8-0ubuntu9.04
Ubuntu 8.10:
postgresql-8.3 8.3.8-0ubuntu8.10
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS:
postgresql-8.3 8.3.8-0ubuntu8.04
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS:
postgresql-8.1 8.1.18-0ubuntu0.6.06

To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.

In general, a standard system upgrade is sufficient to effect the
necessary changes.

References

CVE-2009-3229, CVE-2009-3230, CVE-2009-3231