Comment 0 for bug 322196

Binary package hint: python2.5

There's an interesting bug (or feature?) in Python 2.5 and earlier that affects multiple applications using Python. The bug allows local or user-assisted remote arbitrary code execution. Here is the description of the Python CVE:

"Untrusted search path vulnerability in the PySys_SetArgv API function
in Python before 2.6 prepends an empty string to sys.path when the
argv[0] argument does not contain a path separator, which might allow
local users to execute arbitrary code via a Trojan horse Python file
in the current working directory."

Affected packages are, at least:

CVE-2008-4863 - Blender (already fixed in Ubuntu, I think)
CVE-2008-5983 - Python
CVE-2008-5984 - Dia
CVE-2008-5985 - Epiphany
CVE-2008-5986 - Csound
CVE-2008-5987 - eog
CVE-2009-0314 - gedit
CVE-2009-0315 - xchat
CVE-2009-0316 - vim
CVE-2009-0317 - Nautilus
CVE-2009-0318 - Gnumeric

I'm not sure which versions of these packages and which Ubuntu releases are actually affected, though.

Source and more information:
oss-security thread at http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/01/28/2