Bugtraq mailing list archives
Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability?
From: Chris Brown <chris () wavetex com>
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 08:23:36 -0500
Aaron Cake wrote:
This definitely is a problem, but not just like you describe. Spammers themselves do the same thing based simply on the way SMTP works. At the ISP I work for we've had tons of problems with a spammer (or multiple spammers) using an address from one of our domains as the sender and then a bad recipient address and sending thousands of messages. The recipient server bounces messages back to the apparent sender, effectively mail-bombing them like you describe. Its even worse when the victim address doesn't actually exist because then the postmaster address at both ends gets all kinds of warnings as well.Imagine if I decided to use a spam fitler against someone else...I make an email that contains known rejected words. I send that email, setting the "FROM" address and header to be that of my victim. If I send out hundreds of these messages, I can use someone else's spam filter to mail-bomb my victim with "rejected" messages.
I've seen some ISPs have started to block mail sent by <> to put an end to this sort of thing, but that doesn't seem like a very good solution as it probably blocks legitimate bounce messages.
Chris
Current thread:
- Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? R Armiento (Jun 16)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Joel Eriksson (Jun 18)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Jason Coombs (Jun 19)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Bill Burge (Jun 19)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Sean Straw / PSE (Jun 19)
- RE: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Aaron Cake (Jun 18)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Chris Brown (Jun 21)
- RE: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Hamlesh Motah (Jun 18)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? David F. Skoll (Jun 18)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Jon Fiedler (Jun 19)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? David F. Skoll (Jun 19)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Kyle Wheeler (Jun 21)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? (silently dropping messages) Martin Mačok (Jun 22)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? (silently dropping messages) David F. Skoll (Jun 23)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? (silently dropping messages) der Mouse (Jun 24)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? (silently dropping messages) Valdis . Kletnieks (Jun 24)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Jon Fiedler (Jun 19)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Luca Berra (Jun 22)
- Re: Is predictable spam filtering a vulnerability? Joel Eriksson (Jun 18)