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General discussion

Serious Linux Security Flaw Found

Dec 2, 2003 5:59AM PST

Vulnerability is blamed for a recent high-profile attack.

Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
A serious vulnerability in the Linux 2.4 kernel has been discovered. The flaw allows users on a Linux machine to gain unlimited access privileges, according to a security advisory posted by developers of the noncommercial Debian Linux distribution.

The bug affects versions of the Linux kernel prior to 2.4.23, and was the method used during a recent attack on Debian's servers, according to the advisory. In that attack four Linux servers that hosted Debian's bug tracking system, mailing lists, and various Web pages were compromised.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113700,tk,dn120203X,00.asp

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