"fpathconf()" Denial of Service flaw affects Mac OS X 10.4.8

Secunia reports on the discovery, by Ilja Van Sprundel, of a vulnerability in Mac OS X 10.4.8 that can result in denial of service.

The alert states:

"The vulnerability exists due to an error in the 'fpathconf()' syscall when it is called with an unsupported file type and can be exploited to cause a system panic. The vulnerability is confirmed in version 10.4.8. Other versions may also be affected."

The fpathconf command provides a method for applications to determine the current value of a configurable system limit or option variable associated with a pathname or file descriptor.

The flaw occurs in in the way fpathconf handles unsupported file types. According to Sprundel's findings, presenting the command with cetain file tpes could cause a repeatable kernel panic or hang on Mac OS X systems.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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