Re: COPS reporting unrestricted NFS exports under Linux

[peters () oes amdahl com (Peter Sivo)]

> >     I think this list has discussed the problems with having a hash 
> > as the first character in /etc/hosts.equiv before. This is the standard 
> > setup for Linux networking software. 

> Does anyone have a handy document reference on this, then I'll go and get
> the starting # splatted for good if its a problem.

> Alan




I honestly don't have a handy document, but I remember reading somewhere
that depending on how naive your system software is, if someone had
a '#' mark in the /etc/hosts.equiv or /.rhosts files, I could change
some records in my DNS maps and rename my machine like so:

     3.100.212.129.in-addr.arpa    IN    PTR       me.foo.com

TO

     3.100.212.129.in-addr.arpa    IN    PTR       #

(something like that)

so that now my machine is renamed '#'.  When your machine sees my machine
coming in, and looks it up in DNS, it sees that my machine is named '#'
and since that appears in the /etc/hosts.equiv or /.rhosts, it allows access.

Now, I have never done this and still wonder what brain-dead SW would parse
the /etc/hosts.equiv or /.rhosts file and take the # as not a comment, but
as an actual name (and be tricked into doing it), but hey...I'm just passing
on what I read awhile back (and maybe it is of no concern now).


Peter Sivo
Amdahl/Open Enterprise Systems
peters () oes amdahl com