[QSA-1206242]
Security Update Bundle

Qlustar Security Advisory 1206242

December 6th, 2024

Summary:

A Qlustar security update bundle is a cumulative update of packages that are taken from upstream Debian/Ubuntu without modification. Only packages that are used in a typical HPC/Storage cluster installation are mentioned in Qlustar Security Advisories. Other non-HPC related updates also enter the Qlustar repository, but their functionality is not separately verified by the Qlustar team. To track these updates subscribe to the general security mailing lists of Debian/Ubuntu and/or CentOS/AlmaLinux.

Package(s)       : see upstream description of individual package
Qlustar releases : 12.0, 13
Affected versions: All versions prior to this update
Vulnerability    : see upstream description of individual package
Problem type     : see upstream description of individual package
Qlustar-specific : no
CVE Id(s)        : see upstream description of individual package

This update includes several security related package updates from Debian/Ubuntu and CentOS/AlmaLinux. The following list provides references to the upstream security report of the corresponding packages. You can view the original upstream advisory by clicking on the corresponding title.

Relevant to Qlustar 13 and 12.0

Vim vulnerability

It was discovered that Vim incorrectly handled memory when closing a buffer, leading to use-after-free. If a user was tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could crash the application, leading to a denial of service.

Python 3 vulnerability

It was discovered that Python incorrectly handled quoting path names when using the venv module. A local attacker able to control virtual environments could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code when the virtual environment is activated.

Python 2 vulnerabilities

It was discovered that the Python email module incorrectly parsed email addresses that contain special characters. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass certain protection mechanisms.

It was discovered that Python allowed excessive backtracking while parsing certain tarfile headers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Python to consume resources, leading to a denial of service.

It was discovered that the Python email module incorrectly quoted newlines for email headers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform header injection.

It was discovered that the Python http.cookies module incorrectly handled parsing cookies that contained backslashes for quoted characters. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Python to consume resources, leading to a denial of service.

It was discovered that the Python zipfile module incorrectly handled certain malformed zip files. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Python to stop responding, resulting in a denial of service.

curl vulnerability

It was discovered that curl could overwrite the HSTS expiry of the parent domain with the subdomain’s HSTS entry. This could lead to curl switching back to insecure HTTP earlier than otherwise intended, resulting in information exposure.

QEMU vulnerabilities

It was discovered that QEMU had a DMA reentrancy issue, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service.

libarchive vulnerability

It was discovered that libarchive incorrectly handled certain RAR archive files. If a user or automated system were tricked into processing a specially crafted RAR archive, an attacker could use this issue to cause libarchive to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code.

AlmaLinux 8.10 security updates

Please check the AlmaLinux Errata site for details about AlmaLinux 8 updates that entered this release (everything from October 18th until December 6th).

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following or more recent package versions:

For Qlustar 13

qlustar-module-core-jammy-amd64-13.2       13.2.3-b569f1552
qlustar-module-core-centos8-amd64-13.2     13.2.3-b569f1552

For Qlustar 12.0

qlustar-module-core-focal-amd64-12.0.3     12.0.3.9-b566f1551

Special Update instructions:

In addition to the steps described in the general Qlustar Update Instructions these updates require the following:

• On Qlustar 12, also perform the following manual steps if you haven’t done so yet: Write the dnsmasq and slurm config with QluMan before rebooting. If your cluster was installed with a release earlier than 12.0.0.8-b546f1425 you will have to generate new LDAP certificates at some point since the earlier ones were generated with a 1 year validity. Now they are generated with an unlimited validity. To check the expiration date execute

  # openssl x509 -dates -in /etc/ssl/certs/qlustar-ca-cert.pem | grep notAfter
  

  To regenerate the certificate with unlimited validity execute

  # qluman-ldap-cli --update-certs
  

  before rebooting the whole cluster.
  Please note that we no longer provide 12.x AlmaLinux 8 modules for Qlustar 12. If you want to use AlmaLinux 8 under Qlustar 12, please switch to the 13.x image modules and create a corresponding chroot for it.