CVSROOT: /cvs
Module name: src
Changes by: [email protected] 2020/10/27 15:06:57
Modified files:
lib/libc/stdio : vfprintf.c vfwprintf.c
Log message:
The printf format string component %n is a nearly turning-complete gadget.
Largely considered attack surface nowadays. The benefit provided by %n
is completely overshadowed by the risk.
New uses of %n don't seem to be entering the C ecosystem, as static
tools flag them. And everyone points fingers at those people....
The list of programs (and libraries) which use %n is therefore finite
and shrinking. Most of the %n use comes out of the GNU ecosystem.
jca@ has convinced gnulib to fix their code (so we need to wait for
software including gnulib to make new releases).
A few libraries have moved ahead of us and become more strict. Some n
longer permit %n (for instance, andriod bionic). Others log the occurance.
Some log and abort if the output location is W|X (MacOS).
Our base tree is clean. The ports tree contains a handful during
build time, and unknown count (more) during runtime.
We would like to abort programs on any occurance of %n. Or we could
be like MacOS, aborting for W|X pages (but would need a system call
which can check that condition, and that introduces addressspace
knowledge we don't want attackers to know, and may be a poor tradeoff).
For now, we can syslog, to increase awareness, and involve more people
in the greater community to remove %n uses.
[If %n is at the end, use the *printf return value. If it occurs in
the middle, split the printf calls into multiples]
Hopefully one day, we can just abort() when %n happens. Help us get
there?
ok jca, plus naddy for ports team
