📖 ~4 min read • Source: FreeBSD VuXML
VuXML topic: curl — SOCKS5 heap buffer overflow
Related CVEs: CVE-2023-38545
Upstream summary: The curl team reports: This flaw makes curl overflow a heap based buffer in the SOCKS5 proxy handshake. When curl is asked to pass along the hostname to the SOCKS5 proxy to allow that to resolve the address instead of it getting done by curl itself, the maximum length that hostname can be is 255 bytes. If the hostname is detected to be longer than 255 bytes, curl switches to local name resolving and instead passes on the resolved address only to the proxy. Due to a bug, the l
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Symptom & Impact
On FreeBSD 15 hosts running cmake-core, operators see behaviour consistent with the FreeBSD VuXML entry: pkg audit flags the installed version, services may refuse to start after upgrade or restart, and — for security-rated advisories — the host is exposed to the vulnerabilities above. Impact spans isolated service restart cycles to full availability incidents on jails or bhyve guests that depend on cmake-core.
Environment & Reproduction
Reproduction targets FreeBSD 15. Confirm with freebsd-version -kru, uname -a, and the installed package via pkg info cmake-core and pkg query "%n-%v" cmake-core. Capture system state with pkg audit -F and service -e. Trigger the workflow that exposes cmake-core — vulnerability — patch and remediation guide while collecting tail -200 /var/log/messages, dmesg -a, and /var/log/pkg.log.
Root Cause Analysis
Root cause is tracked at FreeBSD VuXML. The FreeBSD ports security team shipped a corrective cmake-core port revision; hosts on an outdated build remain exposed. Correlate /var/log/pkg.log with /var/log/messages and kernel state in sysctl kern.lastpid + sysctl kern.osreldate to isolate the change that triggered the failure mode.
Quick Triage
Quick triage: service cmake-core status, tail -100 /var/log/messages, pkg audit -F, pkg version -v cmake-core, and pfctl -sr (or ipfw list) to confirm firewall posture. For kernel issues: dmesg -a | tail -100 and kldstat.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
1) service -e to enumerate failed services. 2) tail -F /var/log/messages and dmesg. 3) Validate firewall via pfctl -sr -v or ipfw show. 4) pkg check -B cmake-core for integrity. 5) pkg install -fy cmake-core to reinstall if tampered. 6) Correlate findings with /var/log/pkg.log and FreeBSD VuXML to pin the commit that introduced cmake-core — vulnerability — patch and remediation guide.
Solution – Primary Fix
Primary fix: install the corrective cmake-core port revision referenced by FreeBSD VuXML. Typical commands: sudo pkg update, sudo pkg upgrade cmake-core (or sudo pkg upgrade -y for the whole system), then sudo service cmake-core restart, and pkg audit to confirm no remaining advisories. For ports tree builders: sudo portsnap fetch update + cd /usr/ports/<cat>/cmake-core && sudo make deinstall reinstall clean. Reboot if the kernel module is involved.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Alternatives include locking the package with sudo pkg lock cmake-core until vetted, downgrading via pkg install <older-version> from a pinned repo, switching the FreeBSD pkg repository between quarterly and latest in /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/FreeBSD.conf, isolating the affected service in a jail (iocage/bastille) with stricter firewall rules, or replacing the service with a vendored static build for the period between exposure detection and full rollout.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance: pkg info cmake-core shows the expected fixed version, service cmake-core status is running, pkg audit returns no advisory for cmake-core, tail -50 /var/log/messages shows no errors after restart, and the original reproduction for cmake-core — vulnerability — patch and remediation guide no longer triggers across two consecutive runs.
Rollback Plan
Capture state with pkg query "%n-%v" > /root/pkg-pre.txt and a ZFS boot-environment snapshot: bectl create pre-cmake-core-patch. To revert, run sudo pkg install -f <previous-version> or boot the previous BE via bectl activate pre-cmake-core-patch && reboot. For kernel/loader changes, drop to the loader prompt and select the previous boot environment.
Prevention & Hardening
Prevent recurrence by scheduling pkg audit -F via periodic.conf (daily_status_security_pkgaudit_enable="YES"), subscribing to freebsd-security-notifications, mirroring through a local pkg repo managed by poudriere, version-pinning sensitive packages with pkg lock, enabling automatic ZFS BE snapshots before upgrades, and monitoring file integrity via mtree or aide. Apply the CIS FreeBSD hardening checklist where applicable and harden jails with allow.* tunables in /etc/jail.conf.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
Related issues that commonly surface alongside cmake-core — vulnerability — patch and remediation guide: pkg lock contention, mismatched ABI after kernel/userland skew (freebsd-version vs uname -K), pf rule drift, and stale shared-library references after upgrade (pkg check -d).
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References & Further Reading
Primary reference: FreeBSD VuXML. Supporting docs: FreeBSD Handbook, man pkg, man freebsd-update, man pfctl, man ipfw, man bectl, man periodic.conf, the FreeBSD Security Advisories at security.freebsd.org, and /usr/ports/UPDATING for port-specific notes implicated in cmake-core — vulnerability — patch and remediation guide.
