I''m in the process of locking down as much of my systems here as possible as to available ports. I am down to only a handful but am not sure how much of a security risk they pose and was wondering if anyone here might be able to comment, or suggest secure versions to run: 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14) 22/SSH (1.22) 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) 49/TACACS (TACACS_Plus v4.0.2 BETA/Cisco) 53/DNS (BIND v8.1.2) 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0) 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) 111/RPC (Netkit 0.09) 113/IDENTD (????) 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) 2049/NFS (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) 6669/APCUPSD (UPS Monitoring, read-only from UPS server, already sent letter to author for security info). On servers that have no need for the above ports (ie, telnet, tacacs, pop3, et al) they are disabled. My main concerns are based on the assumption that someone might gain access to the local subnet, which protocols would be sniffable/hackable/et al? Stephen Costaras, stevecs@chaven.com
# 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) Has this problem been patched: http://www.samiam.org/pop3/exploit.html Oh, and I can''t post to linux-security without a question, and a patch of my own: Question: Since the version of Pam for RH4.2 is Pam 0.57, why does the the XFree86-3.3.2 security require Pam 0.59? Yes, I tried compiling Pam 0.59 from the RH5.0 SRPM, but it didn''t work. Can I safely install this by using the --nodeps flag? I notice it is the spec file that specifically asks for version 0.59 (or higher) of Pam. Patch: Patch for Apache 1.2.5 that requires that all cgi-bin scripts are Perl scripts that run in taint mode. It hard-wires Apache to reject any cgi-bin that doesn''t start off as "#!/usr/bin/perl -T" RPMS built around this patch are here: http://linux.samiam.org/blackdragon/ - Sam *** apache_1.2.5/src/mod_cgi.c.orig Mon Jun 8 15:58:15 1998 --- apache_1.2.5/src/mod_cgi.c Mon Jun 8 16:18:46 1998 *************** *** 343,350 **** { int retval, nph, dbpos = 0; char *argv0, *dbuf = NULL; ! FILE *script_out, *script_in, *script_err; ! char argsbuffer[HUGE_STRING_LEN]; int is_included = !strcmp (r->protocol, "INCLUDED"); void *sconf = r->server->module_config; cgi_server_conf *conf --- 343,350 ---- { int retval, nph, dbpos = 0; char *argv0, *dbuf = NULL; ! FILE *script_out, *script_in, *script_err, *perl_check; ! char argsbuffer[HUGE_STRING_LEN], bangline[20]; int is_included = !strcmp (r->protocol, "INCLUDED"); void *sconf = r->server->module_config; cgi_server_conf *conf *************** *** 365,370 **** --- 365,382 ---- else argv0 = r->filename; nph = !(strncmp(argv0,"nph-",4)); + + if(*(r->filename) != ''/'') + return log_scripterror(r, conf, FORBIDDEN, + "You need absolute path to cgi-bin"); + + if((perl_check = fopen(r->filename,"rb")) == NULL) + return log_scripterror(r, conf, FORBIDDEN, + "Can not read cgi-bin program"); + + if(strncmp(fgets(bangline,19,perl_check),"#!/usr/bin/perl -T",19)) + return log_scripterror(r,conf, FORBIDDEN, + "We only allow Perl cgis w/ taint check"); if (!(allow_options (r) & OPT_EXECCGI) && !is_scriptaliased (r)) return log_scripterror(r, conf, FORBIDDEN,
On Mon, 8 Jun 1998, Stephen Costaras wrote:> > I''m in the process of locking down as much of my systems here > as possible as to available ports. I am down to only a handful > but am not sure how much of a security risk they pose and was > wondering if anyone here might be able to comment, or suggest > secure versions to run: > > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14) > 22/SSH (1.22) > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) > 49/TACACS (TACACS_Plus v4.0.2 BETA/Cisco) > 53/DNS (BIND v8.1.2) > 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0) > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > 111/RPC (Netkit 0.09) > 113/IDENTD (????) > 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > 2049/NFS (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > 6669/APCUPSD (UPS Monitoring, read-only from UPS server, already sent > letter to author for security info).The most non-secure services are the r services, and those aren''t much at risk if you''re not running a version with security holes. But I don''t see why you would actualy need to run all of them. Ssh could replace telnet, you don''t need identd unless you go on IRC, as for mail, you should check sendmail alternatives. Oh and firewalling ports is still the best solution. Unless you need to NFS with someone across the country, you should firewall it for outside users. Patrick Lambert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DarkElf Network SysAdmin http://www.darkelf.net OKC.OK.US.UnderNet.Org Operator http://www.undernet.org Check the main resource for developers at www.fastethernet.net ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello!> > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14)Sounds secure, but sniffable.> > 22/SSH (1.22)Could replace telnet. Perhaps also ftp, but only between UNIX machines (I think there isn''t a ''scp'' port for non-unix OS''s). Latest version is 1.2.23 and fixes some bugs.> > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09)Good version, but sniffable service.> > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7)Could upgrade to sendmail 8.9.0 (and if you can, use tcp-wrapper to only allow your main ''trusted'' mailhost of your subnet to send mail to you).> > 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0)Nice idea to upgrade it ;)> > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016)I don''t know if that version is secure, but it''s a sniffable service. [Another reply to this mail :]> The most non-secure services are the r services, and those aren''t much at > risk if you''re not running a version with security holes. But I don''t see > why you would actualy need to run all of them. Ssh could replace telnet, > you don''t need identd unless you go on IRC, as for mail, you should check > sendmail alternatives. Oh and firewalling ports is still the best > solution. Unless you need to NFS with someone across the country, you > should firewall it for outside users.Nothing to say about your advices, but encourage people to use identd whenever it''s possible. It''s always nice to know which remote user is trying to access your system. In case of problem you know how to point your finger at ;) I think it''s possible to fool that service, but... The best solution when you''re worried with sniffers is to use as much encrypted services as possible (either SSH or SSL), the problem is that Winblows/DOS/Mac haven''t got much ports of those utilities. For example, I think there''s an SSL version of the pop3 server, but you won''t be able to find a SSLPOP3 client for windows (AFAIK). I think that Unix systems to be more and more secure, but to be "windows compatible" we must use stupid-non secure protocols :( Greetings, Sergio PS:Please excuse my english :)
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, A Dark Elf wrote:> On Mon, 8 Jun 1998, Stephen Costaras wrote: > > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14) > > 22/SSH (1.22) > > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) > > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) > > 49/TACACS (TACACS_Plus v4.0.2 BETA/Cisco) > > 53/DNS (BIND v8.1.2) > > 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0) > > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > > 111/RPC (Netkit 0.09) > > 113/IDENTD (????) > > 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > > 2049/NFS (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > > 6669/APCUPSD (UPS Monitoring, read-only from UPS server, already sent > > letter to author for security info). > > The most non-secure services are the r services, and those aren''t much at > risk if you''re not running a version with security holes. But I don''t see > why you would actualy need to run all of them. Ssh could replace telnet,Agreed, unless you happen to field a lot of Wintel boxes and no-one wants to spring for F-Secure.> you don''t need identd unless you go on IRCUmmm ... A lot of sites are set to interrogate your identd server when you access them for (mail|ftp|telnet|etc). It makes a good first defense against various ''badness''.> Oh and firewalling ports is still the best > solution. Unless you need to NFS with someone across the country, you > should firewall it for outside users.Generally sound advise. -- "Frankly, Agent Mulder, alien abduction is the more believable option." Agent Skinner, X-Files, 3/09/98 [paraphrase] -- John E. Jasen // DNRC Ambassador to Earth \\ jjasen1@umbc.edu -- -- My views are those of the DNRC only. Prepare to be domesticated --
> > > 22/SSH (1.22) > > Could replace telnet. Perhaps also ftp, but only between UNIX machines (I > think there isn''t a ''scp'' port for non-unix OS''s). > > Latest version is 1.2.23 and fixes some bugs. > > > > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) > > Good version, but sniffable service. >JUST CLOSE TELNET SERVICE! Force your users to use ssh - there are already 2 clients for windows, aik: SecureCRT and SSH for Windows.> > > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) > > Could upgrade to sendmail 8.9.0 (and if you can, use tcp-wrapper to only > allow your main ''trusted'' mailhost of your subnet to send mail to you).Replace Sendmail with QMAIL: qmail is a modern replacement for sendmail, written by Dan Bernstein. qmail is proven to be more secure than Sendmail, and much faster. It is an excellent mail host, in many ways superior to Sendmail (and not in some others). Its main reasons for use are: Ease of maintenance Ease of building spam-free mail spools Support for Maildirs Very advanced queue management Reliability over NFS Speed & memory footprint Great support from the qmail community http://www.qmail.org> > > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > > I don''t know if that version is secure, but it''s a sniffable service.Also replace with qmail''s pop3d.
> Nothing to say about your advices, but encourage people to use identd > whenever it''s possible. It''s always nice to know which remote user is > trying to access your system. In case of problem you know how to point > your finger at ;) I think it''s possible to fool that service, but...It''s trivial to write a spoofing identd. (The protocol is extremely simple, and the IDENT server is taken at its word.)> The best solution when you''re worried with sniffers is to use as much > encrypted services as possible (either SSH or SSL), the problem is that > Winblows/DOS/Mac haven''t got much ports of those utilities. For example, IF-Secure wrote a (shareware?) ssh for Windows. I think there may also be a free port somewhere. Another option along these lines is Kerberos v4; a fair amount of unix software supports it (though you need to apply patches in some cases), and there are ktelnet and kpop clients for MacOS and Windows. (Unfortunately, the only working Kerberized telnet client for Windows AFAIK is a commercial product called Host Explorer.) -- Aaron M. Ucko, KB1CJC <amu@mit.edu> (finger amu@monk.mit.edu)
John \"E.R.\" Jasen enscribed thusly:> On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, A Dark Elf wrote:> > On Mon, 8 Jun 1998, Stephen Costaras wrote: > > > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14) > > > 22/SSH (1.22) > > > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) > > > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) > > > 49/TACACS (TACACS_Plus v4.0.2 BETA/Cisco) > > > 53/DNS (BIND v8.1.2) > > > 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0) > > > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > > > 111/RPC (Netkit 0.09) > > > 113/IDENTD (????) > > > 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > > > 2049/NFS (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > > > 6669/APCUPSD (UPS Monitoring, read-only from UPS server, already sent > > > letter to author for security info).> > The most non-secure services are the r services, and those aren''t much at > > risk if you''re not running a version with security holes. But I don''t see > > why you would actualy need to run all of them. Ssh could replace telnet,> Agreed, unless you happen to field a lot of Wintel boxes and no-one wants > to spring for F-Secure.There are freeware ssh clients for Windows 95/NT and now freeware ssh servers (including a shell) for Windows NT (I don''t think the server runs on 95 - fortunately...).> > you don''t need identd unless you go on IRC> Ummm ... A lot of sites are set to interrogate your identd server when you > access them for (mail|ftp|telnet|etc). It makes a good first defense > against various ''badness''.Identd aka auth is spoofable / forgeable on a box you have control. For that reason, nobody generally "relies" on it, even though there are plenty of services which inquire upon it. The biggest problem is making sure you return SOMETHING for it. If you don''t want to run it, make sure you return an ICMP port unreachable or some such. Lot''s of times firewalls will just drop unwanted stuff on the floor to avoid revealing anything about any of the systems behind them. If you don''t want to support identd and don''t want to return network host information to "error probes" then return a uniform error on that port for any address in your address space. Otherwise, every time you send an E-Mail message, the smtp server at the other end will try and contact your ident server and have to time out. That introduces rediculous delays in mail delivery.> > Oh and firewalling ports is still the best > > solution. Unless you need to NFS with someone across the country, you > > should firewall it for outside users.> Generally sound advise.Absolutely, with the ident proviso above...> -- > "Frankly, Agent Mulder, alien abduction is the more believable option." > Agent Skinner, X-Files, 3/09/98 [paraphrase] > -- John E. Jasen // DNRC Ambassador to Earth \\ jjasen1@umbc.edu -- > -- My views are those of the DNRC only. Prepare to be domesticated --Mike -- Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | mhw@WittsEnd.com (The Mad Wizard) | (770) 925-8248 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/ NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it!
According to Aaron M. Ucko:> F-Secure wrote a (shareware?) ssh for Windows. I think there may also > be a free port somewhere.Announced yesterday evening: From: roc+@cs.cmu.edu (Robert O''Callahan) Subject: free SSH client for Windows, with source Date: Mon Jun 08 23:38:56 CEST 1998 Organization: Carnegie Mellon University I''ve created an extension to the excellent free (with source) telnet client Teraterm Pro 2.3. This extension provides basic SSH functionality --- ciphers, password/RSA/rhosts/rhosts+RSA authentication, compression, ssh_known_hosts. It does port forwarding too, but that''s a bit flaky. This extension is free, the source is available, and it was developed while I was in Australia, and istherefore exportable all over. I hope it meets some people''s needs, but it mainly meets mine :-). http://www.zip.com.au/~roca/ttssh.html PS: I''m back in the US now, so no bugs can be fixed until I get out again (November?), unless an overseas maintainer appears. sorry! Mike. -- Miquel van Smoorenburg | Our vision is to speed up time, miquels@cistron.nl | eventually eliminating it.
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, Linux Mailing Lists wrote:> The best solution when you''re worried with sniffers is to use as much > encrypted services as possible (either SSH or SSL), the problem is that > Winblows/DOS/Mac haven''t got much ports of those utilities. For example, I > think there''s an SSL version of the pop3 server, but you won''t be able to > find a SSLPOP3 client for windows (AFAIK). I think that Unix systems to be > more and more secure, but to be "windows compatible" we must use > stupid-non secure protocols :(Most of the popular windows email clients support SSL - Netscape Messenger has IMAP/SSL, MS Outlook - POP3/SSL. You can setup a SSL servers for those services with quite small effort using wrapper like stunnel (http://mike.daewoo.com.pl/computer/stunnel/). stunnel performs the initial SSL handshake with the client, calls the original non-SSL daemon and works as encrypting proxy between them. For linux I have prepared a SSL enabled fetchmail version (ftp://ftp.ceti.com.pl/pub/linux/), but tunneling over SSH would be probably more efficient. -- Pawel Krawczyk, CETI internet, Krakow. http://www.ceti.com.pl/ info: oferta@ceti.com.pl. Home: http://ceti.com.pl/~kravietz/
"SC" == Stephen Costaras <stevecs@chaven.com> writes: SC> 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) It should be noted that this service (as with most RPC services) does not have a single "established" port. It just happens to be on 669 today, on your box. --Up.
Andrew Frolov (dron@ilm.net) wrote:> JUST CLOSE TELNET SERVICE! > Force your users to use ssh - there are already 2 clients for windows, > aik: SecureCRT and SSH for Windows.I wish there would be. AFAIK SecureCRT is in semi-public beta (download for U.S. citizens only), and the free ssh for windows client is a proof of concept implementation at best. Slow and painfull. There definitely is a strong need for a free and powerfull ssh-Client for Windows (and probably MacOS), just as we need a nice looking GUI-client doing something like ftp, only with encryption (for passwords at least). Not for us Real Men[tm], but for the lusers that force us to keep those sniffable services running. Or would you like to tell your customers to install a real OS only to be able to update their webpages? Might be a nice opportunity for a startup software company to get into the heads of gazillions of Internet-Users, did I hear somebody say ''Telnetscape'' ? ;)> > > > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > > > > I don''t know if that version is secure, but it''s a sniffable service.Are there any ssl-based replacements for pop/imap in the works? Or any other cryptographical correct approach? regards, Bernhard
Stephen Costaras writes:> > I''m in the process of locking down as much of my systems here > as possible as to available ports. I am down to only a handful > but am not sure how much of a security risk they pose and was > wondering if anyone here might be able to comment, or suggest > secure versions to run: > > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14)> 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09)Replace unencrypted telnet with telnet-98.02.16, which supports strong encryption via either SRP or Kerberos. Run telnetd with the "-a valid" option in inetd, which will permit only secure connections to succeed. The same applies to secure, SRP-enabled FTP. Windows and Linux clients/servers are at <http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/>. -- Tom Wu * finger -l tjw@xenon.stanford.edu for PGP key * E-mail: tjw@cs.Stanford.EDU "The box said ''Requires Windows 95, NT, Phone: (650) 725-6969 or better,'' so I installed Linux." http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~tjw/ http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/
darren@kedemel.demon.co.uk
1998-Jun-09 20:05 UTC
[linux-security] Re: Services not required?
> I''m in the process of locking down as much of my systems here > as possible as to available ports. I am down to only a handful > but am not sure how much of a security risk they pose and was > wondering if anyone here might be able to comment, or suggest > secure versions to run: > > 21/FTP (WU-ftpd v2.4.2 BETA 14) > 22/SSH (1.22) > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) > 25/SMTP (Sendmail v8.8.7) > 49/TACACS (TACACS_Plus v4.0.2 BETA/Cisco) > 53/DNS (BIND v8.1.2) > 80/HTTP (Apache v1.2.6 - upgrading to v1.3.0) > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > 111/RPC (Netkit 0.09) > 113/IDENTD (????) > 669/MOUNTD (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > 2049/NFS (RPC/Linux Userspace NFS server v2.2beta29) > 6669/APCUPSD (UPS Monitoring, read-only from UPS server, already sent > letter to author for security info). > > On servers that have no need for the above ports (ie, telnet, tacacs, pop3, > et al) they are disabled. My main concerns are based on the assumption > that someone might gain access to the local subnet, which protocols > would be sniffable/hackable/et al?Whats perhaps more important is to make sure your running tcpd and have firewalling in place, such as ipfwadm ... so only trusted machines may connect to you. Then look at the services your running, although thats about a minimal list, except more upto date daemons. I generally turn off Ident. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <a href="mailto:darren@kedemel.demon.co.uk">darren@kedemel.demon.co.uk</a> PGP DSS/DH 1024/1024 public Key ID 0xF0AE2B5F.
-----Original Message----- From: Andrew Frolov <dron@ilm.net> To: linux-security@redhat.com <linux-security@redhat.com> Date: Tuesday, June 09, 1998 8:54 AM Subject: [linux-security] Re: Services not required?>> > > 22/SSH (1.22) >> >> Could replace telnet. Perhaps also ftp, but only between UNIX machines (I >> think there isn''t a ''scp'' port for non-unix OS''s). >> >> Latest version is 1.2.23 and fixes some bugs. >> >> > > 23/TELNET (Netkit 0.09) >> >> Good version, but sniffable service. >> > >JUST CLOSE TELNET SERVICE! >Force your users to use ssh - there are already 2 clients for windows, >aik: SecureCRT and SSH for Windows.Unfortunately we have Cisco 2511''s used for terminal servers (dialup modems). Not all clients can use PPP so some have to be able to telnet into the system from the Cisco''s. I have not been able to find anything that would offer a secure channel from the Cisco''s to the Unix host (like a ssh for the Cisco''s). If something like that was available I would disable telnet in a second. All ''r'' services have long been disabled and removed from the systems. so the only remote holes are the ones that I listed before (or whatever can go across those ports). Someone mentioned a SSL version of POP3, does a SSL POP3d exist for Linux? Anyone know the url? Also, NFS, does anyone know if secureNFS was ever ported to Linux? Sendmail I''m in the process of upgrading to 8.9, I looked at Qmail and others but am not yet comfortable that they are as robust as sendmail is. True sendmail has been hacked a bit in the past, but the fact that it has been hacked lets me know that those holes were patched. Qmail has not been hacked (that I know of) and that gets me a little edgy. I don''t know of any system that is 100bug free. Steve
Bernhard Weisshuhn wrote:> Are there any ssl-based replacements for pop/imap in the works? Or any > other cryptographical correct approach?wrapssl and edssl can be used to wrap a standard IMAP or POP daemon launched from inetd. I tried both. I had better luck with wrapssl than edssl. wrapssl seemed to work, but netscape''s SSL imap may be flakey - netscape died on me consistently when trying to use SSL imap - but the same (large collection of) folders worked fine with imap but without the SSL. This was with suns, BTW.
Bernhard Weisshuhn enscribed thusly:> Andrew Frolov (dron@ilm.net) wrote:> > JUST CLOSE TELNET SERVICE! > > Force your users to use ssh - there are already 2 clients for windows, > > aik: SecureCRT and SSH for Windows.> I wish there would be.> AFAIK SecureCRT is in semi-public beta (download for U.S. citizens > only), and the free ssh for windows client is a proof of concept > implementation at best. Slow and painfull.You must not be looking very hard. I believe there are at least three ssh clients for Windows, not just the original one that I believe you are referring to. At least one ssh package for Windows includes an ssh server. I believe that''s the package that''s come out of the GNU Win32 project.> There definitely is a strong need for a free and powerfull ssh-Client for > Windows (and probably MacOS), just as we need a nice looking GUI-client > doing something like ftp, only with encryption (for passwords at least). > Not for us Real Men[tm], but for the lusers that force us to keep > those sniffable services running. Or would you like to tell your > customers to install a real OS only to be able to update their webpages?> Might be a nice opportunity for a startup software company to get into > the heads of gazillions of Internet-Users, did I hear somebody say > ''Telnetscape'' ? ;)> > > > > 110/POP3 (Katie Steven''s v1.016) > > > > > > I don''t know if that version is secure, but it''s a sniffable service.> Are there any ssl-based replacements for pop/imap in the works? Or any > other cryptographical correct approach?There is a port designation for imaps (SSL IMAP), 993, and pop3s (SSL POP3), 994. I do know from first hand experience that both Netscape and MS Outlook support SSL IMAP natively. AFAIK neither support pop over SSL. I''ve set up a couple of SSL IMAP servers by using edssl to map from SSL IMAP on port 993 over to the IMAP server on port 143. You can map any tcp connection through SSL using eassl on the client side and edssl on the server side. The tricky part is getting a server certificate for edssl. Verisign doesn''t have a clue if it doesn''t have anything to due with https and a web server.> regards, > BernhardMike -- Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | mhw@WittsEnd.com (The Mad Wizard) | (770) 925-8248 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/ NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it! [mod: Sorry for the moderation backlog. I''m uptodate again now. There have been a bunch of posts naming ways to get an encrypted login on a unix server from windows clients. I''ve just grabbed the URLs that people named and put them below: http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~ci2/ssh/ http://cannibal.mi.org/~tawollen/computer.html http://www.cs.hut.fi/ssh http://www.pdc.kth.se/kth-krb/ http://www.vandyke.com/download/beta/SecureCRT/index.html http://www.europe.datafellows.com/f-secure/fclintp.htm ftp://ftp.pdc.kth.se/pub/krb/binaries/i386-unknown-winnt4.0/krb4-gui-980226.zip ftp://ftp.pdc.kth.se/pub/krb/src/krb4-0.9.9.tar.gz http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/unix/security/login/nrl-opie Regards, Roger ]
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, Michael H. Warfield wrote:> > Agreed, unless you happen to field a lot of Wintel boxes and no-one wants > > to spring for F-Secure. > > There are freeware ssh clients for Windows 95/NT and now freeware > ssh servers (including a shell) for Windows NT (I don''t think the server > runs on 95 - fortunately...).Unfortunately, this doesn''t address the patent licensing issues for RSA, and getting the license for running the code to connect, say to a box at work, generally costs more than the cost of the commercial clients. If however, any of the Freeware clients do only DH/IDEA/3DES, I''d like to hear from someone with a URL, because as long as RSA wants such idiotic fees for the algorithms, I''ll stay right the heck away from it, and I even bought RSAREF.> will try and contact your ident server and have to time out. That introduces > rediculous delays in mail delivery.SMTP isn''t exactly a real-time protocol, and SMTP servers aren''t required to answer to IDENT queries, if you run IDENT requests, then you should be able to live with the extra socket lifetime on your server, just as I should if I don''t wish to respond with an RST and I send you mail. Two days could be considered a ridiculous delay in SMTP, a few seconds to a few minutes shouldn''t be. Paul ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul D. Robertson "My statements in this message are personal opinions proberts@clark.net which may have no basis whatsoever in fact." PSB#9280
On 10 Jun 1998 tjw@CS.Stanford.EDU wrote:> > Replace unencrypted telnet with telnet-98.02.16, which supports > strong encryption via either SRP or Kerberos. Run telnetd with > the "-a valid" option in inetd, which will permit only secure > connections to succeed. The same applies to secure, SRP-enabled > FTP. Windows and Linux clients/servers are at > <http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/>.I don''t believe I''ve seen OPIE mentioned in the discussion. The OPIE suite includes an ftp server (although not as full-featured as wu-ftp), as well as a replacement login program. An example client is included that gives enough of an example to let me hack it into a pop server (although it''s not by any means the easiest thing to use from the user''s perspective). And there is a pass-phrase ''calculator'' for windows clients. It''s available at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/unix/security/login/nrl-opie , and the official site is ftp://ftp.nrl.navy.mil/pub/security/opie ... but I''ve never been able to get the latter site to work. -ps -- Paul Schmidt < >< PSchmidt at Custom dot Net Amateur Radio K9PS ARRL Life Member QCWA Life Member (26711) Bloomfield, IN USA Linux 2.0.34 web:viaduct.custom.net/pschmidt PGP 2.6 fingerprint: 24 9F D3 BD AE E3 50 72 23 AB A0 64 BB 9E 2B 8D
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, Michael H. Warfield wrote:> John \"E.R.\" Jasen enscribed thusly: > > Ummm ... A lot of sites are set to interrogate your identd server when you > > access them for (mail|ftp|telnet|etc). It makes a good first defense > > against various ''badness''. > > Identd aka auth is spoofable / forgeable on a box you have control. > For that reason, nobody generally "relies" on it, even though there are > plenty of services which inquire upon it. The biggest problem is making > sure you return SOMETHING for it. If you don''t want to run it, make sure > you return an ICMP port unreachable or some such.identd/auth is a great start to catching all the people who make stupid or ''newbie'' mistakes while committing badness. [People just discovering how to forge mail come to mind.] -- "Frankly, Agent Mulder, alien abduction is the more believable option." Agent Skinner, X-Files, 3/09/98 [paraphrase] -- John E. Jasen // DNRC Ambassador to Earth \\ jjasen1@umbc.edu -- -- My views are those of the DNRC only. Prepare to be domesticated --
On Thu, 11 Jun 1998, Michael H. Warfield wrote:> John \"E.R.\" Jasen enscribed thusly: > > > On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, A Dark Elf wrote: > > > Ummm ... A lot of sites are set to interrogate your identd server when > > you access them for (mail|ftp|telnet|etc). It makes a good first defense > > against various ''badness''. > > Identd aka auth is spoofable / forgeable on a box you have control. > For that reason, nobody generally "relies" on it, even though there are > plenty of services which inquire upon it. The biggest problem is making > sure you return SOMETHING for it. If you don''t want to run it, make sure > you return an ICMP port unreachable or some such. Lot''s of times > firewalls will just drop unwanted stuff on the floor to avoid revealing > anything about any of the systems behind them. If you don''t want to > support identd and don''t want to return network host information to "error > probes" then return a uniform error on that port for any address in your > address space. Otherwise, every time you send an E-Mail message, the smtp > server at the other end will try and contact your ident server and have to > time out. That introduces rediculous delays in mail delivery.Another ''gotchya'' to be aware of: I tried using ipfwadm as follows: /sbin/ipfwadm -I -a reject -P tcp -S 0.0.0.0/0 -D a.b.c.d/32 113 When an outside server decided it wanted to check my ident daemon, it attempts a connection, and the Linux packet filtering code sent back a ''host administratively unreachable'' packet (ICMP type 3, sub-type 10, iirc). This in itself seems okay, apart from two things: 1) You are blatantly advertising the firewalling. 2) Certain OS''s don''t recognise the packet - I am informed that certain versions of SunOS simply ignore the packet completely, and therefore re-send the SYN packet until the TCP session times out - exactly what we''re trying to avoid. Number 2 comes from experience of trying to email a DNS change to auto-net@nic.uk, and puzzling why it wouldn''t ever leave my machine. In the end, with assistance from a technician at Nominet, we figured it out. Now, I just have it dropped completely - my attempt at being ''polite'' to other mail servers seemed to simply cause more problems. Just thought I''d share, hope that''s of some use to the discussion. Ian. -- Ian Marsh mushypea@dominion.net.uk ... Email http://www.etchq.demon.co.uk/ ... WWW http://www.dominion.net.uk/ telnet://dominion.net.uk:2468/ ... Dominion http://www.alpha4.com/ telnet://alpha4.com:3214/ ... MBa4
Dan Siemon writes:> > I am interested in a comparison of Telnet98(SRP) with SSH. Advantages? > Disadvantages? How secure is it? Why use it instead of SSH? > > Tom Wu wrote: > > > > Replace unencrypted telnet with telnet-98.02.16, which supports > > strong encryption via either SRP or Kerberos. Run telnetd with > > the "-a valid" option in inetd, which will permit only secure > > connections to succeed. The same applies to secure, SRP-enabled > > FTP. Windows and Linux clients/servers are at > > <http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/>.Advantages: - SRP is not susceptible to the MITM attack against SSH even if the two hosts have never executed the SSH protocol before. - SRP gives security equivalent to SSH''s stored RSA key authentication (e.g. zero knowledge, perfect forward secrecy) with standard passwords and without client-side stored keys. - SRP, in effect, solves the bootstrapping problem by leveraging a low-entropy secret (the password) into a high-entropy session key without being susceptible to dictionary attacks the way Kerberos, S/Key, and challenge-response protocols are. - SRP is a pure authentication protocol, which uses no encryption to establish initial authentication. Thus it is not subject to export restrictions. Strength of the authentication is independent of the strength of the session cipher. With perfect forward secrecy, even giving up the session key does not allow a dictionary attack against the password. With SSH and Unix passwords, OTOH, compromising the session key compromises the plaintext password. - Since authentication and encryption are orthogonal, one can, for example, export full-strength SRP from the US with 40-bit session crypto. Disadvantages: - Protocol is newer than RSA; it has only been widely known since mid- 1997 and was published earlier this year. - Fewer clients and servers support it... so far. For example, a Mac client still needs to be written. Wider awareness is probably the best way to rectify that situation. The telnet98 source code is publicly available for scrutiny, of course, and I would be willing to help get the patches into the NetKit telnet for RedHat and other Linux distributions. SRP is a simple Telnet auth protocol extension, a la RFC 1416, so it is autonegotiated like any other Telnet option; it would be nice to have a single "super-telnet" binary that supported all the auth options and servers that autodetected what mechanisms were supported at run time. Linux PAM modules are also available to handle the new Exponential Password File Format, see <http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/> to download them. -- Tom Wu * finger -l tjw@xenon.stanford.edu for PGP key * E-mail: tjw@cs.Stanford.EDU "The box said ''Requires Windows 95, NT, Phone: (650) 725-6969 or better,'' so I installed Linux." http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~tjw/ http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, Michael H. Warfield wrote:> > Ummm ... A lot of sites are set to interrogate your identd server when you > > access them for (mail|ftp|telnet|etc). It makes a good first defense > > against various ''badness''. > > Identd aka auth is spoofable / forgeable on a box you have control. > For that reason, nobody generally "relies" on it, even though there are > plenty of services which inquire upon it.The problem is really that people attemt to use identd for things it is not meant to solve. It is there for logging purposes, not for authentication purpoes. It can be used for authentication from trusetd machines (i.e. ones where the users are believed not to become root or the equivalent). It is as trustworthy as the machine it is running on. Identd is a very good way for us to find out which of our users who has been misbehaving. Peter -- Peter Svensson ! Pgp key available by finger, fingerprint: <petersv@df.lth.se> ! 8A E9 20 98 C1 FF 43 E3 07 FD B9 0A 80 72 70 AF ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remember, Luke, your source will be with you... always...
Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH
1998-Jun-14 11:24 UTC
[linux-security] Re: Services not required?
In message <Pine.LNX.3.96.980611145912.13628A-100000@limbo.alpha4.com>, MushyPe a writes: +----- | 1) You are blatantly advertising the firewalling. | | 2) Certain OS''s don''t recognise the packet - I am informed that certain | versions of SunOS simply ignore the packet completely, and therefore | re-send the SYN packet until the TCP session times out - exactly what | we''re trying to avoid. +--->8 3) Older Ultrix, and possibly some other OSes, will drop *all* connections to the host upon receiving such a packet. In any case, I use "-a deny" instead. [mod: One such "Other OS" is HPUX. -- REW] -- brandon s. allbery [team os/2][linux][japh] allbery@kf8nh.apk.net system administrator, ece facilities allbery@ece.cmu.edu carnegie mellon university (bsa@kf8nh is still valid.)
On Thu, 11 Jun 1998 15:17:12 +0100 (BST), MushyPea <mushypea@dominion.net.uk> wrote:>When an outside server decided it wanted to check my ident daemon, it >attempts a connection, and the Linux packet filtering code sent back a >''host administratively unreachable'' packet (ICMP type 3, sub-type 10, >iirc)... Certain OS''s don''t recognise the packetAnd worse, some old OS''s incorrectly handle host unreachable or administratively denied. Instead of giving up on just the ident handshake, they give up on *all* connections to your machine. So you end up with You start to send mail, port SMTP. They ident you. You reject ident with ICMP. They incorrectly hang up all sessions, including SMTP. You retry sending mail. They ident you ... repeat ad nauseum. I found it better to allow ident through the firewall and just not run the ident service. Immediate TCP RST instead of ICMP, seems to work for everything.
On Tue, Jun 09, 1998 at 05:57:24PM -0500, Stephen Costaras wrote:> Unfortunately we have Cisco 2511''s used for terminal servers (dialup > modems). Not all clients can use PPP so some have to be able to telnet > into the system from the Cisco''s. I have not been able to find anything > that would offer a secure channel from the Cisco''s to the Unix host (like > a ssh for the Cisco''s). If something like that was available I would > disable telnet in a second.Recent IOSes support some encrypted remote access support (but probably proprietary). Another way is to connect your Cisco to a SSH enabled machine by serial cable and use minicom ;)> Someone mentioned a SSL version of POP3, does a SSL POP3d exist for Linux? > Anyone know the url?See http://mike.daewoo.com.pl/computer/stunnel/ -- Pawel Krawczyk, CETI internet, Krakow. http://www.ceti.com.pl/ info: oferta@ceti.com.pl. Home: http://ceti.com.pl/~kravietz/
http://www.seifried.org/http/ Any votes on what to write next? Chrooting: Apache-SSL cgi-bin stuff (perl, bash, etc) DHCPD IDENTD/giving canned replies. User shell accounts Sendmail/POP/IMAP (you''ll have to wait for this one =) Programs: Script(s) to chroot named (in the works) Script(s) to chroot apache/setup user dirs, etc. (in the works) Other suggestions/comments? -seifried
Howdy there to all !!! :) Greeting from Italy. MushyPea wrote:> On Thu, 11 Jun 1998, Michael H. Warfield wrote: >[snip...]> > Identd aka auth is spoofable / forgeable on a box you have control. > > For that reason, nobody generally "relies" on it, even though there are > > plenty of services which inquire upon it. The biggest problem is making > > sure you return SOMETHING for it. If you don''t want to run it, make sure > > you return an ICMP port unreachable or some such. Lot''s of times > > firewalls will just drop unwanted stuff on the floor to avoid revealing > > anything about any of the systems behind them. If you don''t want to > > support identd and don''t want to return network host information to "error > > probes" then return a uniform error on that port for any address in your[snip...]> Another ''gotchya'' to be aware of: > I tried using ipfwadm as follows: > > /sbin/ipfwadm -I -a reject -P tcp -S 0.0.0.0/0 -D a.b.c.d/32 113 > > When an outside server decided it wanted to check my ident daemon, it > attempts a connection, and the Linux packet filtering code sent back a > ''host administratively unreachable'' packet (ICMP type 3, sub-type 10, > iirc). This in itself seems okay, apart from two things: > > 1) You are blatantly advertising the firewalling.Sure, unless you decide to replace the ipfwadm line above with this one: /sbin/ipfwadm -I -a deny -P tcp -S 0.0.0.0/0 -D a.b.c.d/32 113 This will not generate an icmp message.> 2) Certain OS''s don''t recognise the packet - I am informed that certain > versions of SunOS simply ignore the packet completely, and therefore > re-send the SYN packet until the TCP session times out - exactly what > we''re trying to avoid.Since you deny that service (identd in our example) you can also run a little daemonthat opens a raw socket and wait for tcp segment that will be delivered to the identd service. Once the segment is arrived on that raw socket, you can simple RST the connection on the other side, so one will know neither if you have a "simple" fw running, nor if your identd service is down. Well, This is only my humble opinion :), so feel free to give me some advices if I''m in wrong We learn always :) Have a good time :) Gigi Sullivan P.S. Uh, well .. I''d also like to apologize for my bad english. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Linux is really CUTE: Cool User Text Environment :) enjoy yurself> > > Number 2 comes from experience of trying to email a DNS change to > auto-net@nic.uk, and puzzling why it wouldn''t ever leave my machine. In > the end, with assistance from a technician at Nominet, we figured it out. > Now, I just have it dropped completely - my attempt at being ''polite'' to > other mail servers seemed to simply cause more problems. > > Just thought I''d share, hope that''s of some use to the discussion. > > Ian. > > -- > Ian Marsh > mushypea@dominion.net.uk ... Email > http://www.etchq.demon.co.uk/ ... WWW > http://www.dominion.net.uk/ telnet://dominion.net.uk:2468/ ... Dominion > http://www.alpha4.com/ telnet://alpha4.com:3214/ ... MBa4 > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Please refer to the information about this list as well as general > information about Linux security at http://www.aoy.com/Linux/Security. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe: > mail -s unsubscribe linux-security-request@redhat.com < /dev/null