Re: DJB's students release 44 *nix software vulnerability advisories

["David F. Skoll" <dfs () roaringpenguin com>]

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004, Jonathan T Rockway wrote:

> Regarding local versus remote, look at it this way:  You have a 100%
> secure system.  Then you install NASM.  Now a user FROM THE NETWORK can
> send you some tainted assembly code for you to assemble and he can
> compromise your account.

That's nonsense.  If you have /bin/sh installed, I can send you a shell
script FROM THE NETWORK that will give me root access if you run it.
Therefore, every UNIX system on Earth has a remote hole, according to
your definition.

> Now in regards to full disclosure, I think you should all be happy
> that we bothered to tell you all about these exploits.  We could
> have selfishly used them to compromise machines, but instead we
> wrote them up and mailed them off to the users and the authors!

Could you have?  How, pray tell, would you compromise a machine with
the NASM exploit?  Even if you have a local account, the NASM exploit
lets you run arbitrary code as... yourself.  Big deal.

--
David.