An updated less package that fixes segmentation fault when viewing binary files is now available.
The less utility is a text file browser that resembles more, but has extended capabilities. Victor Ashik discovered a heap based buffer overflow in less, caused by a patch added to the less package in CentOS Linux 3. An attacker could construct a carefully crafted file that could cause less to crash or possibly execute arbitrary code when opened. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-0086 to this issue. Note that this issue only affects the version of less distributed with CentOS Linux 3. CentOS believes that the Exec-Shield technology (enabled by default since Update 3) will block attempts to remotely exploit this vulnerability on x86 architectures. All users of the less package should upgrade to this updated package, which resolves this issue.
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