Joomla Vulnerability -- New version available (Nov 5, 2009)

[Jason]

I received a new alert email this morning:

[20091103] - Core - Front-End Editor Issue

Posted: 03 Nov 2009 08:31 AM PST

Project: Joomla!
SubProject: com_content
Severity: Moderate
Versions: 1.5.14 and all previous 1.5 releases
Exploit type: Front-End Editing
Reported Date: 2009-September-05
Fixed Date: 2009-November-03
Description
When logged into the front end with Author access, it was possible to replace an article written by another user.

Affected Installs
All 1.5.x installs prior to and including 1.5.14 are affected.

Solution
Upgrade to latest Joomla! version (1.5.15 or newer).

Reported by Hannes Papenberg

Contact
The JSST at the Joomla! Security Center.



[20091103] - Core - XML File Read Issue

Posted: 01 Nov 2009 05:03 PM PST

Project: Joomla!
SubProject: All
Severity: Low
Versions: 1.5.14 and all previous 1.5 releases
Exploit type: Extension Version Disclosure
Reported Date: 2009-October-13
Fixed Date: 2009-Nov-03
Description
It is possible to read the contents of an extension's XML file and find the version number of the installed extension. This could allow people to exploit a known security flaws for a specific version of an extension.

Affected Installs
All 1.5.x installs prior to and including 1.5.14 are affected.

Solution
Turn on Apache mod_rewrite and configure your .htaccess file to filter out XML files. In the htaccess.txt file shipped with version 1.5.15, lines 35-39 contain example code that will deny access to XML files. You can incorporate this code (or similar code) into your .htaccess file. Be sure to test that it does not cause problems on your site.

Reported by WHK and Gergő Erdősi

Contact
The JSST at the Joomla! Security Center.