tcpdump mailing list archives

Re: Suggestion: Pcap-over-IP client support in


From: Michael Richardson <mcr () sandelman ca>
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:51:28 -0400


"Rick" == Rick Jones <rick.jones2 () hp com> writes:
    Rick> What are the issues/benefits/downfalls one way or t'other
    Rick> between the two schemes - over ssh and a specific connection -
    Rick> when it comes to making certain that this thing forwarding
    Rick> captured traffic isn't simply chasing its own tail forwarding
    Rick> captures of its forwarding of captures of its fowarding of
    Rick> captures...

The issue is threefold:
    1) libpcap, does not currently expose itself to the network in
       through sockets.  Any new code (particularly "server" code)
       would increase risk.  
       (Yes, tcpdump has lots of vulnerabilities to buffer overflows,
       but pcap doesn't really have the same issue, since it never
       looks in the packets it captures)
  
    2) anything we do which is "native", will be wrong for some use, and
       any security we write will be wrong, and need to be extended, and
       then will become complicated and brittle...

    3) therefore, it's better to reuse the existing tools, which already
       come in a variety of flavours (ssh, ssl, kerberos, passport,
       https, oauth, socks, raw, rlogin, ...) rather than inventing
       something new.

The push back is usually from the microsoft platform, designed only really to
load word, doesn't really provide any way to combine differing tools in new
ways.  Ironically, windows has some of the best integrated security
authorization in the form of kerberos enabled AD, but doesn't provide a
simple equivalent to "ssh remotehost command" that uses AD.

-- 
]       He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life!           |  firewalls  [
]   Michael Richardson, Sandelman Software Works, Ottawa, ON    |net architect[
] mcr () sandelman ottawa on ca http://www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/ |device driver[
   Kyoto Plus: watch the video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzx1ycLXQSE>
                       then sign the petition. 





         
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