Re: 2.06

[Fyodor <fyodor () dhp com>]

On Mon, 8 Feb 1999, //Stany wrote:

> Oh, and BTW:  Switch to new /dev/urandom or /dev/random as the default
> source of entropy causes a warning upon start-up, as Solaris lacks that
> (seems to be true for both SunOS 5.6 and 5.7).  It might be worth-while to
> implement OS detection at compile time, and #ifdef Solaris, then
> transparently switch back to the old source of entropy as the default.

The loud warning messages at startup is intentional.  They serve serveral
purposes:

1)  Lets people know of potential security risks from using the
workarounds for missing snprintf() or /dev/{u}random .  While I don't know
of any offhand, I write code assuming that snprintf() and
get_random_bytes() work.

2)  If by some compilation problem or other mistake the workaround to
snprintf() or /dev/random gets used, I want the user to know immediately.  
Otherwise a user is _very_ unlikely to figure out the insecure
snprintf() and random number generation are bing used.

3)  Perhaps a developer at Sun (some of whom are on this list) might
realize the importance of kernel-level random number generation and put it
in.

4)  Perhaps someone on the list will get sick of the annoying message and
code/find a better replacement for snprintf or /dev/random.  I would be
delighted to accept one -- but make sure it is well tested and portable.

Cheers,
Fyodor

--
Fyodor                            'finger pgp () www insecure org | pgp -fka'
Frustrated by firewalls?          Try nmap: http://www.insecure.org/nmap/
"Girls are different from hacking. You can't just brute force them if all
else fails." --SKiMo, quoted in _Underground_ (good book)