Description
Buffer overflow in the RPC library (lib/rpc/rpc_dtablesize.c) used by libgssrpc and kadmind in MIT Kerberos 5 (krb5) 1.2.2, and probably other versions before 1.3, when running on systems whose unistd.h does not define the FD_SETSIZE macro, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code by triggering a large number of open file descriptors.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | krb5 | 1.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | krb5 | 1.3-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | krb5 | 1.3-1 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 3 | krb5 +4 | 1.2.7-68 | RHSA-2008:0181 |
| RHEL 2 | krb5 +4 | 1.2.2-48 | RHSA-2008:0181 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2008:0181 Red Hat Security Advisory: krb5 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- 3752 third-party-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9209 vdb-entry signature
- TA08-079B third-party-advisory
- ADV-2008-1744 vdb-entry
- 20080318 MITKRB5-SA-2008-002: array overrun in RPC library used by kadmin (resend, corrected subject) mailing-list
- 28302 vdb-entry
- http://support.novell.com/docs/Readmes/InfoDocument/patchbuilder/readme_5022542.html
- SSRT100495 vendor-advisory
- 29663 third-party-advisory
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0009.html
- krb5-rpclibrary-fdsetsize-bo(41274) vdb-entry
- ADV-2008-0922 vdb-entry
- 29428 third-party-advisory
- 30535 third-party-advisory
- 20080318 MITKRB5-SA-2008-001: double-free, uninitialized data vulnerabilities in krb5kdc mailing-list
- http://support.novell.com/docs/Readmes/InfoDocument/patchbuilder/readme_5022520.html
- 20080604 VMSA-2008-0009 Updates to VMware Workstation, VMware Player, VMware ACE, VMware Fusion, VMware Server, VMware VIX API, VMware ESX, VMware ESXi resolve critical security issues mailing-list
- SUSE-SA:2008:016 vendor-advisory
- http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/advisories/MITKRB5-SA-2008-002.txt
- 29424 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2008:0181 vendor-advisory
- 1019631 vdb-entry
- 29423 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2008-1102 vdb-entry
- VU#374121 third-party-advisory