Wide-ranging flaw crashes programs (Security Alert)

Iria · Jul 8, 2005, 12:51 AM

A security flaw in a widely-used data compression technology could put many software programs at risk of attack, experts have warned.

The buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the open-source "zlib" component, Secunia said in an alert published Thursday. Using a specially crafted file, an attacker could take control over a computer or crash applications that use zlib, the security monitoring company said.

The process is used in a large number of open-source and proprietary software applications to compress and decompress data, and it ships with many Linux and BSD distributions. Zlib is described as "something of a de facto standard" by Wikipedia, the community-based online encyclopedia.

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Read More / Source: ZDNet

Jul 8, 2005, 12:51 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Wide-ranging flaw crashes programs (Security Alert) A security flaw in a widely-used data compression technology could put many software programs at risk of attack, experts have warned. The buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the open-source "zlib" component, Secunia said in an alert published Thursday. Using a specially crafted file, an attacker could take control over a computer or crash applications that use zlib, the security monitoring company said. The process is used in a large number of open-source and proprietary software applications to compress and decompress data, and it ships with many Linux and BSD distributions. Zlib is described as "something of a de facto standard" by Wikipedia, the community-based online encyclopedia. __________ Read More / Source: ZDNet Last edited by msanto; Jul 8, 2005 at 12:52 AM. Reason: Emphasize security problem