Fortify Confirms Serious Ubuntu/Debian Security Flaw

Vulnerability Allows an Attacker to Predict The SSL Cryptographic Keys Used for Supposedly Secure Online Transactions

(02.06.08) - Fortify Software, the application vulnerability specialist, has confirmed the findings of a research posting to the Debian security list last week, which details a critical security vulnerability in the OpenSSL packages within the Debian and Ubuntu Linux operating systems.

Fredrick Lee, a researcher with Fortify's Security Research Group, said that the posting under-states the potential seriousness of the flaw, which affects the Open Secure Sockets Layer elements of the two Linux operating systems.

"We're calling this vulnerability 'insecure randomness' since it allows an attacker to predict the SSL cryptographic keys used for supposedly secure online transactions," he said.

According to Lee, the serious flaw could, for example, allow a malicious user to intercept an ostensibly secure online banking session between a customer and their bank.

"What's worse is the fact our researchers calculate this flaw has been available to hackers for more than two years," he said.

The problem, Lee went on to say, stems from a bug fix issued by Debian programmers that effectively emasculates the randomness engine required to ensure true security within the SSL module.

"Had we been contacted as part of the release strategy, as a number of other developers do, then the flaw would have been immediately identified by our research team, before the insecure update was released to the public," he said.

For more on the Debian and Ubuntu Linux OpenSSL security flaw: http://tinyurl.com/6b9nh6

(Fortify: ra)