openssh unix dev - Oct 2000 - Compatibility with 1.2.16 (commercial)?

Hi folks,


I'm currently trying to connect to version 1.2.16 of the commercial
server.  The server says it supports protocol version 1.4 and that that
is incompatible with protocol version 1.5.  Is that actually true?  The
complete output from "ssh -v xxxxxxx" is:

$ ./ssh -v xxxxxxx
SSH Version OpenSSH_2.3.0p1, protocol versions 1.5/2.0.
Compiled with SSL (0x0090581f).
debug: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh_config
debug: Applying options for *
debug: Seeding random number generator
debug: ssh_connect: getuid 1000 geteuid 1000 anon 0
debug: Connecting to xxxxxxx [xx.xx.xx.xx] port 22.
debug: Seeding random number generator
debug: Allocated local port 883.
debug: Connection established.
debug: Remote protocol version 1.4, remote software version 1.2.16
debug: no match: 1.2.16
debug: Local version string SSH-1.5-OpenSSH_2.3.0p1
debug: Waiting for server public key.
Received disconnect: This server does not support your new ssh version.
debug: Calling cleanup 0x414cf0(0x0)
$

If I patch the version string sent by ssh to SSH-1.4-xxx, it works.  But
there seems to be no configuration parameter to influence that string,
it's basically hardcoded in the ssh executable.

Should I just not try that, could I add such a configuration parameter
or is there any other way to get a connection? 

Another way of handling this would theoretically be to update the
server, but as administration of the servers is not my domain here in
the company, I would really prefer not to have to do that.


so long, benny
-- 
ISION Internet AG
Benjamin Riefenstahl
mailto:benjamin.riefenstahl at ision.net

Ruhrstrasse 61
D-22761 Hamburg
http://www.ision.net

Hi Benjamin,

There is no good reason that an OpenSSH client should not be able to
speak to a 1.4 protocol ssh server.

	Enjoy!
	-- Mark

The following is a patch against openssh-SNAP-20001028 to use the
appropriate minor version number for clients connecting to down-rev
servers. Could the powers that be consider this one for inclusion in
the next OpenSSH release?

--- sshconnect.c~	Fri Sep 22 23:15:57 2000
+++ sshconnect.c	Mon Oct 30 11:16:22 2000
@@ -321,6 +321,7 @@
 	int remote_major, remote_minor, i, mismatch;
 	int connection_in = packet_get_connection_in();
 	int connection_out = packet_get_connection_out();
+	int use_minor = PROTOCOL_MINOR_1;
 
 	/* Read other side\'s version identification. */
 	for (;;) {
@@ -377,10 +378,18 @@
 		} else if (remote_minor == 3) {
 			/* We speak 1.3, too. */
 			enable_compat13();
+			use_minor = 3;
 			if (options.forward_agent) {
 				log("Agent forwarding disabled for protocol 1.3");
 				options.forward_agent = 0;
 			}
+		} else if (remote_minor == 4) {
+			/* We speak 1.4, too. */
+			use_minor = 4;
+			if (options.forward_agent) {
+				log("Agent forwarding disabled for protocol 1.4");
+				options.forward_agent = 0;
+			}
 		}
 		break;
 	case 2:
@@ -402,7 +411,7 @@
 	/* Send our own protocol version identification. */
 	snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "SSH-%d.%d-%.100s\n",
 	    compat20 ? PROTOCOL_MAJOR_2 : PROTOCOL_MAJOR_1,
-	    compat20 ? PROTOCOL_MINOR_2 : PROTOCOL_MINOR_1,
+	    compat20 ? PROTOCOL_MINOR_2 : use_minor,
 	    SSH_VERSION);
 	if (atomicio(write, connection_out, buf, strlen(buf)) != strlen(buf))
 		fatal("write: %.100s", strerror(errno));