Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Tor
Summary
DSA-2363-1: tor - buffer overflow. Affects tor versions < 0.2.2.35-1~squeeze+1. Fixed in 0.2.2.35-1~squeeze+1. How to fix ↓
Check if this vulnerability affects your application
Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.
No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds
Background
Tor is an online privacy tool that allows users to browse the internet anonymously by routing their internet traffic through a network of volunteer-operated servers. It provides protection against network surveillance and traffic analysis. Tor uses SOCKS connections to establish communication between clients and servers. The vulnerability in Tor involves incorrect computation of buffer sizes in certain cases involving SOCKS connections.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in Tor is a heap-based buffer overflow that can be triggered by malicious parties. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker can cause a buffer overflow, potentially leading to the execution of arbitrary code. In the default configuration of Tor, this vulnerability can only be triggered by clients that can connect to Tor's SOCKS port, which listens only on localhost. However, in non-default configurations where Tor's SocksPort listens on other interfaces or when Tor is configured to use another SOCKS server for outgoing connections, a larger set of malicious parties can exploit this vulnerability.
How To Fix
Minimum fixed version
0.2.2.35-1~squeeze+1
This is the first release that contains the fix.
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade torTip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
If upgrading is not immediately possible, a workaround is to restrict Tor's SocksPort to listen only on localhost. This can be done by modifying the Tor configuration file and setting the SocksPort directive to '127.0.0.1:9050'. This limits the vulnerability to only clients running on the same machine as Tor.
Conclusion
The buffer overflow vulnerability in Tor can be mitigated by upgrading to the fixed versions of the Tor package. It is important to ensure that Tor runs as expected after the upgrade. If immediate upgrading is not possible, restricting Tor's SocksPort to listen only on localhost can provide a temporary workaround. For further support on vulnerability remediation, you can contact DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for tor →
FAQ
Tor is an online privacy tool that allows users to browse the internet anonymously by routing their internet traffic through a network of volunteer-operated servers.
A buffer overflow is a vulnerability that occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of a buffer, potentially overwriting adjacent memory and leading to unexpected behavior or the execution of arbitrary code.
This vulnerability can be exploited by malicious parties who can connect to Tor's SOCKS port. By triggering a buffer overflow, an attacker can potentially execute arbitrary code.
The impact of this vulnerability depends on the configuration of Tor. In the default configuration, the vulnerability can only be exploited by clients running on the same machine as Tor. However, in non-default configurations, a larger set of malicious parties can exploit the vulnerability.
To protect your system, it is recommended to upgrade the Tor package to the fixed versions. Additionally, you can restrict Tor's SocksPort to listen only on localhost as a temporary workaround.
Related vulnerabilities
Recent vulnerabilities recorded for tor.
Follow Vulert in Google
Get more Vulert vulnerability and dependency-security updates in Google Search and AI results.