Security Bulletin: AIX is affected by information disclosure (CVE-2023-45803) and arbitrary code execution (CVE-2024-6345) due to Python

Summary

Vulnerabilities in Python could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information (CVE-2023-45803) or execute arbitrary code (CVE-2024-6345). Python is used by AIX as part of Ansible node management automation.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:CVE-2023-45803
**DESCRIPTION:**urllib3 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by a flaw with not remove the HTTP request body when an HTTP redirect response using status 303. By sending a specially crafted HTTP request, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information, and use this information to launch further attacks against the affected system.
CVSS Base score: 4.2
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/269079 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N)

CVEID:CVE-2024-6345
**DESCRIPTION:**pypa/setuptools could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by an error in the package_index module. By persuading a victim to click a specially crafted URL, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability using its download functions to inject and execute arbitrary code on the system.
CVSS Base score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/298014 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

The following fileset levels are vulnerable:

Note:

A. Latest level of Python fileset is available from the web download site:

<https://www.ibm.com/resources/mrs/assets?source=aixbp&gt;

To find out whether the affected filesets are installed on your systems, refer to the lslpp command found in the AIX user’s guide.

Example: lslpp -L | grep -i python3.9.base

Remediation/Fixes

FIXES

IBM strongly recommends addressing the vulnerability now.

A fix is available, and it can be downloaded from:

<https://www.ibm.com/resources/mrs/assets?source=aixbp&gt;

To extract the fixes from the tar file:

zcat python-3.9.19.2.tar.Z | tar xvf -

IMPORTANT: If possible, it is recommended that a mksysb backup of the system be created. Verify it is both bootable and readable before proceeding.

Note that all the previously reported security vulnerability fixes are also included in above mentioned fileset level.

To preview the fix installation:

installp -apYd . python3.9.base

To install the fix package:

installp -aXYd . python3.9.base

openssl dgst -sha256 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [advisory_file].sig [advisory_file]

openssl dgst -sha256 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [ifix_file].sig [ifix_file]

Published advisory OpenSSL signature file location:

<https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/python_advisory11.asc.sig&gt;

Workarounds and Mitigations

None