Re: [Braillenote] Warning: BrailleNote Apex Offers Read/Write FTP And Telnet Access To All Comers

[Alex Hall <mehgcap () gmail com>]

While I am shocked at this sort of security risk on a bn, I wonder how
you use it to access your files without, as you say, using ActiveSync?
I am on a public network at school and am therefore rather worried
about this (then again, I doubt anyone on campus knows what telnet is,
let alone how to isolate my machine).
Please email hw with the details of this as soon as possible so they
can see that, even if they meant to do it, it is of concern to users.
If you can tell me how to do this and I can confirm it, I will also
email them. I do not doubt your findings, I just would like to provide
details of my setup so that hw can see that these are two independent
use cases.

On 10/1/10, Sabahattin Gucukoglu <mail () sabahattin-gucukoglu com> wrote:
> BrailleNote Apex offers telnet and FTP access on the standard ports, with
> read/write privilege on the entire file system, to all comers.  No
> authentication is required.  BrailleNote is unsafe on any network whose
> devices you are not in full charge of, and which (by NAT or firewall) does
> not protect BrailleNote from the Internet.
>
> I am happy and sad.  In a chance port scan of my entire network looking for
> interesting services and protocols that were not accounted for by visible
> configuration options in all my devices, I found this disaster staring me in
> the face on the least likely candidate of them all.  On the one hand, now I
> don't need ActiveStink in order to access my files, over the network, from
> my Mac.  I want these services running, for sure (maybe just FTP) but
> dammit, authentication first!  On the other hand, there is no doubt my trust
> in HumanWare is badly dented, as I was clearly optimistic that they would,
> and did, do the right thing and secure the device firmware before shipping
> it.  Anonymous FTP and telnet are obvious, easily found and effectively
> exploited.  If it isn't configurable, it shouldn't be enabled.  I am quite
> sure this was the case before now.  The most likely explanation is a build
> with a test configuration and services for development still in use on the
> newest model; the USB vendor string is further evidence of this.  Note to
> self: that popular expression about assumptions turns out to be true.
>
> KeySoft version 9.0.2 build 756, Windows CE 6.0, with telnet and FTP
> services.
>
> While we await an update that either disables the services or allows the
> user to specify the authentication credentials, do not use your BrailleNote
> Apex on any untrusted network, or if you are network administrator,
> temporarily prohibit these devices from connecting to your networks.  If
> "Bad guys" are on your network, the BrailleNote Apex is, alas, easy meat.
>
> Cheers,
> Sabahattin
>
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-- 
Have a great day,
Alex (msg sent from GMail website)
mehgcap () gmail com; http://www.facebook.com/mehgcap

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