Low Threat Security Patches and Tools

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Author

Mohd A. Bashar, Ganesh Krishnan, Markus G. Kuhn, E. H. Spafford, S. S. Wagstaff, Jr

Tech report number

CSD-TR-96-075; COAST TR 97-10

Entry type

article

Abstract

We consider the problem of distributing potentially dangerous information to a number of competing parties. As a prime examplem, we focus on the issue of distributing security patches to software. These patches implicitly contain vulnerablility information that may be abused to jeopardize the security of other systems. When a vedor supplies a binary program patch, different users may receive it at different times. The differential application times of the patch create a window of vulnerablility until all users have installed the patch. An abuser might analyze the binary patch before others install it. Armed with this information, he might be able to abuse another user's machine. A related situation occurs in the deployment of security tools. However, many tools will necessarily encode vulnerability information or explicit information about security "` "localisms". This information may be reverse-engineered and used against systems. We discuss several ways in which security patches and tools may be made safer. Among these are: customizing patches to apply only to one machine, disguising patches to hinder thier interpretation, synchronizing patch distribution to shrink the window of vulnerablility, applying patches automatically, and using cryptoprocessors with enciphered operating systems. We conclude with some observations on the utility and effectiveness of these methods.

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Date

1996

URL

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=624263

Institution

Department of Computer Sciences

Key alpha

bashar

Publisher

IEEE Computer Society

School

Purdue University

Publication Date

2001-01-01

Location

A hard-copy of this is in the CERIAS Library

BibTex-formatted data

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@Article{ bashar,
	title = "Low Threat Security Patches and Tools",
	author = "Mohd A. Bashar, Ganesh Krishnan, Markus G. Kuhn, E. H. Spafford, S. S. Wagstaff, Jr",
	year = "1996",
	institution = "Department of Computer Sciences",
	publisher = "IEEE Computer Society",
	school = "Purdue University",
	abstract = "We consider the problem of distributing potentially dangerous information to a number of competing parties. As a prime examplem, we focus on the issue of distributing security patches to software. These patches implicitly contain vulnerablility information that may be abused to jeopardize the security of other systems. When a vedor supplies a binary program patch, different users may receive it at different times. The differential application times of the patch create a window of vulnerablility until all users have installed the patch. An abuser might analyze the binary patch before others install it. Armed with this information, he might be able to abuse another user's machine. A related situation occurs in the deployment of security tools. However, many tools will necessarily encode vulnerability information or explicit information about security "` "localisms". This information may be reverse-engineered and used against systems. We discuss several ways in which security patches and tools may be made safer. Among these are: customizing patches to apply only to one machine, disguising patches to hinder thier interpretation, synchronizing patch distribution to shrink the window of vulnerablility, applying patches automatically, and using cryptoprocessors with enciphered operating systems. We conclude with some observations on the utility and effectiveness of these methods.",
	url = "http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=624263",
}