RE: Sygate Personal Firewall can be shut down without a need to s upply a password - although one is required

[Seth Knox <seth.knox () sygate com>]

Eitan,

You are welcome. Thank you for taking the time to test Sygate Personal
Firewall. However, in this case, I think you are making an issue out
something that is trivial to anyone who understands the use of rights and
privileges within the Windows Operating Systems. I suggest that in the
future you vet vulnerabilities you post with security experts, the editor of
the newsgroup, and the vendor of the related product prior to posting on a
widely distributed newsgroup such as bugtraq. The editor of NTBugtraq seems
to feel that same way:

"In this case, Eitan has overstated the severity of the issue, IMNSHO...
While I think its great that people like Eitan are entering into the
security realm, I think properly stating the severity of issues is as
important. When the discoverer puts such comments into their advisories, it
should be vetted (pre or post publication). I do this with every post to
NTBugtraq, which is why the volume is so low there."

Russ - NTBugtraq Editor

If you wish to submit a vulnerability directly to Sygate for vetting please
send email to security-alert () sygate com . We also plan to add a note to the
product documentation and support website explaining that "priviledged"
users (users with the right to stop a service) have the right to stop the
Sygate Personal Firewall service without the password. I would also like to
clarify the fact that you tested a consumer product not Sygate Secure
Enterprise, which includes an enforcement component that prevents users
(even Administrators) from accessing enterprise and government networks if
they are not running Sygate Security Agent. I have addressed your specific
comments individually below.

Seth Knox
Product Manager
Sygate Technologies   


To: 
BugTraq
Subject: 
RE: Sygate Personal Firewall can be shut down without a need to supply
Date: 
Dec 5 2002 10:01PM
Author: 
Eitan Caspi <eitancaspi () yahoo com>


Hello Seth,

Thanks for taking the time to comment about this issue.

1. As you may noticed, I used the term "privileged users". Stopping
service is enabled for the members of the local power users as well, so
the problem range is wider.

*****Response****** 
I agree with this point. Any user with the ability to stop a service can
stop the Sygate Personal Firewall service. 
**************************


2. I will sharpen my point: You are absolutely correct about the fact
that local admins can stop services.

If you will see in my note, I wrote:
" Privileged users CAN START the procedure of stopping the service -
BUT, the application vendor CAN (as part of the overall procedures
performed when an application is being shut down) place a code section
that forces a password prompt at the beginning of the stopping process
and if the password is wrong - to stop the stopping process. "

I ask you this: Do you claim that what I wrote is technically wrong and
it can't be done by sygate?

*****Response****** 
What you wrote is technically wrong. There are a multitude of ways to stop a
process as a "privileged user". Ultimately, it is impossible for Sygate to
prevent a user with the rights to stop the service from stopping the service
by "placing a code section that forces a password prompt at the beginning of
the stopping process and if the password is wrong - to stop the stopping
process."

Even if we could do this, I don't think we would. Imagine this scenario; You
are the administrator of a computer, you install Sygate Personal Firewall
without enabling password protection, a normal user logs in and sets a
password. The result under your proposed implementation would be that the
administrator of the system wouldn't be able to log into the Sygate Personal
Firewall or even stop the service. Of course, he could always uninstall the
application, which brings me back to my original point. Administrators and
Power users have the right to stop services and uninstall programs including
Sygate Personal Firewall. If you don't want a user stopping the Sygate
Personal Firewall service, don't give them that Right. 

The NTBugtrack editor has another scenario for you that makes your argument
a moot point:

"This is a description of a GUI interface, and not the underlying
actions/permissions/rights. IOWs, it is possible for a developer to code
something into their service which, when the service detects a shutdown
request, causes that service to execute some action (such as prompting for a
password).

This does not mean that the service could not be "stopped". If a user has
the right to stop a service, they also have the right to modify its startup
behavior, including setting it to disabled or manual. Since that action has
nothing to do with the running service, the service could be "stopped" by
simply changing the setting and restarting the machine...at which time the
service would not start."
******************************

If this is the claim and it is technically true (I'm not a developer,
but a system admin) - I redraw my claims and ask for your forgiveness.

****Response******
I forgive you but I would appreciate it if you retract your mistaken claims.
*********************

If you are not able to claim this - then Sygate has just overlooked this
problem and didn't close this breach.


3. Let's be accurate here: YOU added, in your email, the words
"non-administrator". I never claimed the "password for exit" is meant
only for "non-administrator" users. Neither did Sygate!!!- I have seen
the help for the product on your web site - and the password feature was
not even mentioned by text or in the screen shot of the "general" tab!!!
Probably the help pages was not so updated...

*Response******
I apologize. I should not have used the term "non-administrator". Instead, I
should have used the term "users without the rights to stop a service".
However, I don't think this is material to the argument given the points
made in item 2.
****************

A false sense of security is certainly a vulnerability.


)The above section of the email was written before re-visiting the help
web pages of the product. The following section was written after a
re-visit)



NOW, I have just re-visited the help pages and I must say I'm shocked!!!

Just a day or two ago I visited the web help for the product and the
section describing the "general" tab showed a screen shot of an earlier
version of the product and the whole "password protection" section was
missing from the picture!!! And of course there was no explanation about
this feature!!!

When I entered NOW to the same page 
( http://soho.sygate.com/support/documents/spf_help/general_tab.htm ) -
Suddenly the screen shot is showing the "password protection" feature
and there is even an explanation to the feature.

*Response******
I checked and the page you referred to has not been changed since October
and it was certainly not changed based on your report.
****************

But that's not all - here comes the best:
The screen shot shows that the "ask password while exiting" is dimmed
and can't be chosen and the password description is not explaining about
this check box at all!!!

*******Response*********
The reason that the "ask password while exiting" box is dimmed is that you
have to enter a password before the check box is able to be checked. 
***************************

Beside the fact that this is not the actual current application behavior
but only a specially crafted form - what you are doing by this is
arrogantly covering your blame!!!

*******Response********
At this point, you aren't making much sense. The application does exactly
what we describe on the page:

"Enabling Password Protection will protect your settings from being changed
by another user. Password Protection will prompt you to enter your password
every time you access the Sygate Personal Firewall main console."

Notice that this statement does not claim that it is impossible for an
Administrator or Power User to stop the service. However, we will add a note
on that page to make sure there is no confusion.
***************

I can't express my absolute rejection feelings towards this act!
Security is first of all credibility - and as far as my concern: 
You just lost it!

*****Response******
Let's keep this type of debate professional. I did not attack your
credibility in my response. Please don't attack mine. I think you should
take this a little less seriously if you have "absolute rejection feelings
towards this act!"
************

Eitan Caspi
Israel

-----Original Message-----
From: Seth Knox [mailto:seth.knox () sygate com] 
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 8:14 PM
To: 'bugtraq () securityfocus com'
Cc: 'eitancaspi () yahoo com'
Subject: Sygate Personal Firewall can be shut down without a need to
supply

If you are an Administrator of a computer, you have the absolute right
to stop any service, including the Sygate Personal Firewall Service,
using the services window or "net stop" command.  This is not a
vulnerability but rather the intended implementation of the Microsoft
operating system.  If the administrator of the computer wants to prevent
other users from stopping the Sygate Personal Firewall Service, they
should not grant that right to other users. As you mentioned in your
email, Sygate Personal Firewall has the option to prevent any
non-administrator from exiting the firewall or stopping the application
from the task menu without a password.  In enterprise and government
organizations, Sygate Secure Enterprise initiates a challenge/response
enforcement protocol that ensures that Sygate Security Agent, as well as
third-party applications, are running and up-to-date before any system
can connect to the network.
 
Seth Knox
Product Manager
Sygate Technologies

----- -----Original Message-----
From: Russ
To: eitancaspi () yahoo com; bugtraq () securityfocus com
Sent: 12/5/02 4:23 PM
Subject: RE: Sygate Personal Firewall can be shut down without a need to
supply a password - although one is required

Eitan said;
"Privileged users CAN START the procedure of stopping the service - BUT, the
application vendor CAN (as part of the overall procedures performed when an
application is being shut down) place a code section that forces a password
prompt at the beginning of the stopping process and if the password is wrong
- to stop the stopping process."

This is a description of a GUI interface, and not the underlying
actions/permissions/rights. IOWs, it is possible for a developer to code
something into their service which, when the service detects a shutdown
request, causes that service to execute some action (such as prompting for a
password).

This does not mean that the service could not be "stopped". If a user has
the right to stop a service, they also have the right to modify its startup
behavior, including setting it to disabled or manual. Since that action has
nothing to do with the running service, the service could be "stopped" by
simply changing the setting and restarting the machine...at which time the
service would not start.

While I think its great that people like Eitan are entering into the
security realm, I think properly stating the severity of issues is as
important. When the discoverer puts such comments into their advisories, it
should be vetted (pre or post publication). I do this with every post to
NTBugtraq, which is why the volume is so low there.

In this case, Eitan has overstated the severity of the issue, IMNSHO.
Members of the Administrators and Power Users group have many ways they can
manipulate the operation of a Windows environment (any version). They are
"privileged users", and as such, must be endorsed to be trustworthy. If you
cannot trust individuals using those accounts, then custom privileges should
be assigned (leaving them out of pre-defined groups). You can stop them from
shooting themselves in the foot, but you cannot stop them from intentionally
modifying the operation of the system.

Any expectation that you can is the real "false sense of security".

Sygate have silently acknowledged this by not bothering to prompt for the
password. This should be clearly documented, and if its not, that then is
their mistake.

Cheers,
Russ - NTBugtraq Editor