Updated slocate packages are now available that fix a heap overflow vulnerability.
Slocate is a security-enhanced version of locate, designed to find files on a system via a central database. Patrik Hornik discovered a vulnerability in Slocate versions up to and including 2.7 where a carefully crafted database could overflow a heap-based buffer. A local user could exploit this vulnerability to gain "slocate" group privileges and then read the entire slocate database. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2003-0848 to this issue. Users of Slocate should upgrade to these erratum packages, which contain a patch from Kevin Lindsay that causes slocate to drop privileges before reading a user-supplied database.
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