March 30, 2024 at 01:51AM
RedHat issued an urgent security alert about backdoored versions of the XZ Utils data compression library, impacting versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1. The compromised code interferes with the sshd daemon process and could allow unauthorized remote access under specific circumstances. Microsoft researcher Andres Freund discovered the issue, prompting GitHub to disable the repository. CISA recommends downgrading to an uncompromised version.
After reviewing the meeting notes, the key takeaways are as follows:
– RedHat has issued an urgent security alert regarding the backdooring of XZ Utils, impacting versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 with a severity score of 10.0 (CVE-2024-3094).
– The compromised code intercepts and modifies data interactions with the liblzma library and is designed to interfere with the sshd daemon process for Secure Shell (SSH) via the systemd software suite.
– Microsoft security researcher Andres Freund discovered and reported the issue, attributing the suspicious code to a user named JiaT75 on GitHub.
– GitHub has disabled the XZ Utils repository maintained by the Tukaani Project, citing a violation of its terms of service.
– Only Fedora 41 and Fedora Rawhide are impacted, and certain Linux distributions have been recommended to downgrade XZ Utils to an uncompromised version.
These are the main points from the meeting notes. Let me know if you need further details or information on any specific aspect.