CERT^® Advisory CA-1999-10 Insecure Default Configuration on RaQ2 Servers

A complete revision history is at the end of this file.

Systems Affected

• Cobalt Networks RaQ2 single rack unit Internet servers

I. Description

A vulnerability has been discovered in the default configuration of Cobalt Networks RaQ2 servers that allows remote users to install arbitrary software packages to the system. RaQ2 servers are configured with an administrative webserver to process remote requests to manage the unit. Systems installed with the default configuration have insufficient access control mechanisms to prevent remote users from adding arbitrary software packages to the system using this webserver.

A document published by Cobalt Networks describes the vulnerability and solutions in more detail:

http://noram.cobaltnet.com/support/security/index.html

II. Impact

Any remote user who can establish a connection to an administrative port on a vulnerable RaQ2 server can install arbitrary software packages on the server. This access can then be used to gain root privileges on the system.

III. Solution

Configure your Systems to Guard Against this Vulnerability

Install the patches provided by Cobalt Networks:

http://www.cobaltnet.com/patches/RaQ2-Security-1.0.pkg (For RaQ2 servers)

http://www.cobaltnet.com/patches/RaQ2J-Security-1.0.pkg (For Japanese versions of the RaQ2 system)

The CERT/CC wishes to thank Cobalt Networks for their assistance in developing this advisory.

CERT/CC Contact Information

Email: cert@cert.org
Phone: +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline)
Fax: +1 412-268-6989
Postal address:

CERT Coordination Center
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
U.S.A.

CERT/CC personnel answer the hotline 08:00-17:00 EST(GMT-5) / EDT(GMT-4) Monday through Friday; they are on call for emergencies during other hours, on U.S. holidays, and on weekends.

Using encryption

We strongly urge you to encrypt sensitive information sent by email. Our public PGP key is available from

http://www.cert.org/CERT_PGP.key

If you prefer to use DES, please call the CERT hotline for more information.

Getting security information

CERT publications and other security information are available from our web site

http://www.cert.org/

* "CERT" and "CERT Coordination Center" are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

NO WARRANTY
Any material furnished by Carnegie Mellon University and the Software Engineering Institute is furnished on an "as is" basis. Carnegie Mellon University makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied as to any matter including, but not limited to, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or merchantability, exclusivity or results obtained from use of the material. Carnegie Mellon University does not make any warranty of any kind with respect to freedom from patent, trademark, or copyright infringement.

Copyright 1999 Carnegie Mellon University.

Jul 30, 1999:	Initial release
Aug  8, 1999:	Updated link to Cobalt Networks announcement
Jul 25, 2001:	Fixed typo in title