Re: problems in /usr/Cadmin/bin for IRIX 5.3

[richard () wizard ucs sfu ca (Richard Chycoski)]

> From: Grant Kaufmann <gkaufman () cs uct ac za>
> I've stumbled onto a problem with /usr/Cadmin/bin/chost and
> /usr/Cadmin/bin/cimport.
> I'll post an exploit tomorrow, but I'd like to know why so many (17) programs in
> this directory are suid? They should only be run by root anyway.
>
> A quick fix is chmod -s /usr/Cadmin/bin/* .
>
> --
> Grant

Cadmin is known to be a major security hole. The reason for the suid programs is
that SGI has a mechanism to allow a user other than root to perform administrative
tasks on the machine. The implementation of this mechanism is quite flawed,
however, and your quick fix is the only way around it that I know of.

---
- Richard Chycoski
  Senior Systems Consultant
  Simon Fraser University
  Academic Computing Services
  richard () sfu ca