Bugtraq mailing list archives

Re: I found this today and iam reporting it to you first!!! (fwd)


From: alan () MANAWATU GEN NZ (Alan Brown)
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 08:07:28 +1200


On Sat, 4 Sep 1999, Wietse Venema wrote:

Whatever reasoning the poster used, it is invalid with any reasonable
mail system, because it is the mail system that chooses the bounce
message originator address; the bounce message originator address
is not under control by the attacker.

In other words, the suggested loop does not exist.

I can personally vouch for most cc:mail installations being so braindead
that they will bounce indefinitely. One such machine returned 5800
bounce messages from a single complaint sent to bounce messages from a single complaint sent to postmaster@rDNS about
relayed spam - with each additional message being 2kb larger than the
previous one.

Put 2 of those back-to-back and see what happens.

AB


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