RE: Speaking of DDoS attacks

["Rev. Chris Cappuccio" <chris () dqc org>]

Merit uses Postfix..  A workaround was recently added to Postfix which breaks
up lines over 2048 bytes, as some Mickeysoft MTAs stop responding when
Postfix delivers mail with large lines in them.  Without this patch, Postfix
will keep resending until it gives up.

On Thu, 12 Jul 2001, Rowland, Alan  D wrote:

 |
 | In my humble opinion it looks like something at your mail server.
 |
 | 198.108.1.26 is trapdoor.merit.edu , their mail server, which appears to be
 | re-sending the original 10 Jul mail.
 |
 | The original hit their mail server 10 Jul. This copy was forwarded to your
 | XXX (is this the actual header or are you protecting the innocent?) on 12
 | Jul.
 |
 | Your work mail server may not be properly acknowledging receipt of the list
 | mail so Merit's server continues to re-send (for the default 4 days?) until
 | the resend TTL.
 |
 | A trace to 165.135.0.253 dies at 500.Serial2-2.GW1.HNL2.ALTER.NET so I'm not
 | sure what's hanging there but I'd look at your mail agent configuration.
 |
 | A second possibility is some non-standard character in your work mail
 | address. You don't say what it is but if there is a character in it that is
 | benign on your system but meaningful to Merit's mail system, there may be a
 | problem.
 |
 | I've been the victim of a similar "attack" in the past as a result of the _
 | in my address.
 |
 | Just my 2?
 |
 | -Al
 |
 | -----Original Message-----
 | From: Robert Cannon [mailto:rcannon101 () yahoo com]
 | Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:46 PM
 | To: nanog () merit edu
 | Subject: Speaking of DDoS attacks
 |
 |
 |
 | Speaking of DDOS attacks, there seems to be one going
 | on associated with the NANOG list.  I was wondering if
 | anyone could offer insite.
 |
 | At my work address, I have received the same email
 | from NANOG about every 10 - 15 minutes.  I have
 | received hundreds of copies of this email.  Yet at
 | this address I do not receive the repeated copies (and
 | no one else on the list appears to have complained).
 | If I look at the header of the email, the last hop, if
 | I am reading it correctly, is named
 | "zombie.la.interpacket.net" by
 | mrbig.la.interpacket.net.  I have since unsubscribed
 | from NANOG from my work address yet still receive the
 | emails.  Also, this has been going on for over a week
 | (since a rule filters all my nanog email into a
 | folder, it has not bothered me too much) - every few
 | days, the email that I am repeatedly hit with changes.
 |  Currently, the email I am being hit with is "OT: The
 | End of Empire."
 |
 | Below I have pasted the header of the email
 |
 | I would be curious to hear people's thoughts about
 | this.   Is this a type of a DDOS?  Anyone familiar
 | with it?
 |
 | -B
 |
 |
 | Received: from XXXX
 |      ([165.135.0.253])
 |      by XXXX; Thu, 12 Jul 2001 16:01:40 -0400
 | Received: by XXXX; id QAA14070; Thu, 12 Jul 2001
 | 16:01:38 -0400 (EDT)
 | Received: from unknown(198.108.1.26) by XXXX via smap
 | (V5.5)
 |      id xmaa13982; Thu, 12 Jul 01 16:00:42 -0400
 | Received: by trapdoor.merit.edu (Postfix)
 |      id BB70F91231; Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:35:31 -0400 (EDT)
 | Delivered-To: nanog-outgoing () trapdoor merit edu
 | Received: by trapdoor.merit.edu (Postfix, from userid
 | 56)
 |      id 896EB91251; Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:35:31 -0400 (EDT)
 | Delivered-To: nanog () trapdoor merit edu
 | Received: from segue.merit.edu (segue.merit.edu
 | [198.108.1.41])
 |      by trapdoor.merit.edu (Postfix) with ESMTP id
 | 83A3791231
 |      for <nanog () trapdoor merit edu>; Tue, 10 Jul 2001
 | 14:35:29 -0400 (EDT)
 | Received: by segue.merit.edu (Postfix)
 |      id 79E335DE1A; Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:36:58 -0400 (EDT)
 | Delivered-To: nanog () merit edu
 | Received: from bond.interpacket.net
 | (us-la-gate.interpacket.net [209.198.223.250])
 |      by segue.merit.edu (Postfix) with SMTP id ECF9A5DDD8
 |      for <nanog () merit edu>; Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:36:57
 | -0400 (EDT)
 | Received: (qmail 31855 invoked from network); 10 Jul
 | 2001 18:35:43 -0000
 | Received: from mrbig.la.interpacket.net (192.168.6.5)
 |   by bond.la.interpacket.net with SMTP; 10 Jul 2001
 | 18:35:42 -0000
 | Received: from [192.168.4.53]
 | (zombie.la.interpacket.net [192.168.4.53]) by
 | mrbig.la.interpacket.net with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange
 | Internet Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13)
 |      id N6TNP8LB; Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:39:32 -0700
 | Mime-Version: 1.0
 | X-Sender: mikey () popmail la interpacket net
 | Message-Id: <a05010406b770fb74762d@[192.168.4.53]>
 | Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:35:52 -0700
 | To: nanog () merit edu
 | From: Mikey Wilsker <mikey () interpacket net>
 | Subject: OT: The End of Empire
 | Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ;
 | format="flowed"
 | Sender: owner-nanog () merit edu
 | Precedence: bulk
 | Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing () merit edu
 | X-Loop: nanog
 |
 |
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---
Rev. Chris Cappuccio
http://www.dqc.org/~chris/