file: Integer overflow

Background

file is a utility that guesses a file format by scanning binary data for patterns.

Description

Colin Percival from FreeBSD reported that the previous fix for the file_printf() buffer overflow introduced a new integer overflow.

Impact

A remote attacker could entice a user to run the file program on an overly large file (more than 1Gb) that would trigger an integer overflow on 32-bit systems, possibly leading to the execution of arbitrary code with the rights of the user running file.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

Since file is a system package, all Gentoo users should upgrade to the latest version:

 # emerge --sync
 # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=sys-apps/file-4.21"