Revision History
10/13/2005 - Update the Affected Products, VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter and BusinesServer 4.5MP for Windows is NOT impacted by this vulnerability.
10/20/2005 - Adding notice to users of public posting of exploit code

Severity
HIGH

Remote Access	Yes
Local Access	Yes
Authentication Required	No
Exploit publicly available	Yes

NOTE: Exploit code for the Linux, Win32, and Mac OS X platforms is publicly available. Customers who have not patched yet, should do so immediately.

Overview
The remote exploitation of a format string overflow vulnerability in the Java user-interface authentication service, bpjava-msvc, running on VERITAS NetBackup servers and agents, could potentially allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on a targeted system with elevated privileges.

Affected Product(s)

Product	Version	Build	Platform	Solution
VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter and BusinesServer	4.5MP	All	Non-Windows	NB_45_9S1729_M
VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter and BusinesServer	4.5FP	All	All	NB_45_9S1443_F
VERITAS NetBackup Enterprise/Server/Client	5.0	All	All	NB_50_5S1320_M
VERITAS NetBackup Enterprise/Server/Client	5.1	All	All	NB_51_3AS0949_M
VERITAS NetBackup Enterprise/Server/Client	6.0	All	All	NB_60_3S0007_M

Not Affected Product(s)

Product	Version	Build	Platform
VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter and BusinesServer for Windows	4.5MP	All	Windows

Note: VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter and BusinesServer 4.5MP for Windows does NOT use the bpjava-msvc component.

Details
TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, notified Symantec of a format string overflow vulnerability in VERITAS NetBackup that could potentially allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability exists in the authentication service, bpjava-msvc daemon, in the Java user-interface. If a remote attacker were able to access the service and successfully exploit this vulnerability, they could potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the bpjava-msvc daemon, normally root or SYSTEM, on the targeted system.

Symantec Response
Symantec Engineers have verified this issue and made security updates available for the supported VERITAS NetBackup products. Symantec strongly recommends all customers immediately apply the latest updates for their supported product versions to protect against these types of threats.

The patches listed above for NetBackup DataCenter and NetBackup BusinessServer 4.5 and for NetBackup Enterprise Server and NetBackup Server 5.0, 5.1, and 6.0 are available from the following location:
http://support.veritas.com/docs/279085

NOTE: In a recommended installation, VERITAS NetBackup should be restricted to trusted access only. The VERITAS NetBackup Server or clients should never be visible external to the network which greatly reduces opportunities for unauthorized access.

Symantec Security Response has released IPS/IDS signatures to detect and prevent attempts to exploit this issue.

Symantec ManHunt 3.0 signatures are available for update from the Symantec Security Response Update Center at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/Product/Product_MH.html

Symantec Network Security Appliance 7100 signatures are available for update from the Symantec Security Response Update Center at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/Product/Product_SNS.html

Symantec Gateway Security 3.0 signatures are available for update from the Symantec Security Response Update Center at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/Product/Product_SGS.html

Symantec Client Security 2.0 and 3.0 signatures are available for update via LiveUpdate and from the Security Response Update Center at:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/Product/Product_SCS.html

Customers using Symantec Client Security 2.0 and 3.0 should have already uploaded this signature if they run LiveUpdate regularly. If not, Symantec recommends customers manually run Symantec LiveUpdate to ensure they have the most current protection.

As part of normal best practices, Symantec strongly recommends:

• Restricting access to administration or management systems to privileged users.
• Restricting remote access, if required, to trusted/authorized systems only.
• Running under the principle of least privilege where possible to limit the impact of exploit by threats such as this.
• Keeping all operating systems and applications updated with the latest vendor patches.
• Following a multi-layered approach to security. Run both firewall and antivirus applications, at a minimum, to provide multiple points of detection and protection to both inbound and outbound threats.
• Deploying network intrusion detection systems to monitor network traffic for signs of anomalous or suspicious activity. This may aid in detection of attacks or malicious activity related to exploitation of latent vulnerabilities

CVE
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) initiative has assigned CVE Candidate CAN-2005-2715 to this issue.
This issue is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems.

Credit:
Symantec would like to thank TippingPoint Research, a division of 3Com, for reporting this issue and for providing coordination while Symantec resolved it. This vulnerability was discovered by Kevin Finisterre and JohnH.

Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products very seriously. As founding members of the Organization for Internet Safety (OISafety), Symantec follows the principles of responsible disclosure. Symantec also subscribes to the vulnerability guidelines outlined by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Please contact secure@symantec.com if you feel you have discovered a potential or actual security issue with a Symantec product. A Symantec Product Security team member will contact you regarding your submission.

Symantec has developed a Product Vulnerability Handling Process document outlining the process we follow in addressing suspected vulnerabilities in our products. We support responsible disclosure of all vulnerability information in a timely manner to protect Symantec customers and the security of the Internet as a result of vulnerability. This document is available from the location provided below.

Symantec strongly recommends using encrypted email for reporting vulnerability information to secure@symantec.com. The Symantec Product Security PGP key can be obtained from the location provided below.

Symantec Vulnerability Response Policy

Symantec Product Vulnerability Management PGP Key

Copyright (c) 2008 by Symantec Corp.
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Disclaimer
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