USN-1270-1: Software Center vulnerability

21 November 2011

An attacker could trick Software Center into installing altered packages and repositories or exposing sensitive information over the network.

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Releases

Packages

  • software-center - Utility for browsing, installing, and removing applications

Details

David B. discovered that Software Center incorrectly validated server
certificates when performing secure connections. If a remote attacker were
able to perform a machine-in-the-middle attack, this flaw could be exploited to
view sensitive information or install altered packages and repositories.

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

Learn more about Ubuntu Pro

Update instructions

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu 11.10
Ubuntu 11.04
Ubuntu 10.10

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References

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Further reading