TIBCO Hawk vulnerability

   Original release date: July 29, 2008
   Last revised: --
   Source: TIBCO Software Inc.


Systems Affected

   TIBCO Hawk versions below 4.8.1
   TIBCO Runtime Agent (TRA) versions below 5.6.0
   TIBCO iProcess Engine versions 10.3.0 thru 10.6.2, and 11.0.0
   TIBCO Mainframe Service Tracker versions below 1.1.0

   The following components are affected:

     * TIBCO Hawk AMI C library (libtibhawkami)
     * TIBCO Hawk HMA (tibhawkhma)


Overview

   TIBCO Hawk and derived components listed above contain buffer overflow
   vulnerabilities in the processing of inbound data.  The impact of these
   vulnerabilities may include remote execution of arbitrary code, information
   disclosure, and denial of service. 


I. Description

   TIBCO has released updates which address critical vulnerabilities in the
   The Hawk AMI C library and Hawk Monitoring Agent.

   The TIBCO Hawk AMI C library and derived components contain a vulnerability
   that may allow an attacker to compromise an application by sending a
   specially crafted message.

   TIBCO strongly recommends sites running the affected components to install
   the update or take mitigating action as appropriate.


II. Impact

   The impact of these vulnerabilities varies depending on the operating
   system and the privilege levels of the user that invoked the application.

   On Unix based systems, a successful exploit will allow arbitrary code
   execution with the privileges of the user that invoked the application.

   On Windows based systems, a successful exploit will allow arbitrary code
   execution with the privileges of the user that invoked the application.
   If the application is installed as a system service, this will result in
   access to system privileges.


III. Solution

   Upgrade TIBCO Hawk to version 4.8.1 or above.   Update all components
   derived from TIBCO Hawk to use version 4.8.1 or above.  This is strongly
   recommended.

   If an upgrade is not possible, the following actions can mitigate the
   vulnerabilities:

     * If TIBCO Rendezvous is being used as the Hawk transport, utilize a
       firewall to restrict UDP/PGM access to the TIBCO Rendezvous network
       to trusted sources.
     * If TIBCO Enterprise Messaging Service is being used as the Hawk
       transport, ensure that authorization is enabled in the EMS server and
       that only fully trusted users are allowed to publish on Hawk subjects.
     * Use a user with restricted privileges to invoke the application.
     * On Unix systems, set the permissions of the tibhawkhma executable
       such that it is not suid.
     * On Unix systems, invoke the application from a chroot environment.
       This will restrict the ability to access or modify information in the
       event of a successful exploit.


References

   http://www.tibco.com/mk/advisory.jsp
   CVE: CVE-2008-3338