Synopsis:          Moderate: sudo security and bug fix update
Issue Date:        2012-08-08
CVE Numbers:       CVE-2012-3440


An insecure temporary file use flaw was found in the sudo package's
post-uninstall script. A local attacker could possibly use this flaw to
overwrite an arbitrary file via a symbolic link attack, or modify the
contents of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file during the upgrade or removal of
the sudo package. (CVE-2012-3440)

This update also fixes the following bugs:

- Previously, sudo escaped non-alphanumeric characters in commands using
"sudo -s" or "sudo -" at the wrong place and interfered with the
authorization process. Some valid commands were not permitted. Now,
non-alphanumeric characters escape immediately before the command is
executed and no longer interfere with the authorization process.
(BZ#844418)

- Prior to this update, the sudo utility could, under certain
circumstances, fail to receive the SIGCHLD signal when it was executed
from a process that blocked the SIGCHLD signal. As a consequence, sudo
could become suspended and fail to exit. This update modifies the signal
process mask so that sudo can exit and sends the correct output.
(BZ#844419)

- The sudo update RHSA-2012:0309 introduced a regression that caused the
Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) context of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file
to change during the installation or upgrade of the sudo package. This
could cause various services confined by SELinux to no longer be permitted
to access the file. In reported cases, this issue prevented PostgreSQL and
Postfix from starting. (BZ#842759)

- Updating the sudo package resulted in the "sudoers" line in
"/etc/nsswitch.conf" being removed. This update corrects the bug in the
sudo package's post-uninstall script that caused this issue. (BZ#844420)

- Prior to this update, a race condition bug existed in sudo. When a
program was executed with sudo, the program could possibly exit
successfully before sudo started waiting for it. In this situation, the
program would be left in a zombie state and sudo would wait for it
endlessly, expecting it to still be running. (BZ#844978)


SL5
   x86_64
     sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.x86_64.rpm
   i386
     sudo-1.7.2p1-14.el5_8.2.i386.rpm

- Scientific Linux Development Team