Re: [cobalt-users] root login on RaQ3

[Dennis <dennis@xxxxxxxxx>]

Just firewall telnet out except from known devices/networks. 

At 10:58 AM 3/11/00 -0800, you wrote:
>At 01:46 PM 3/11/00 -0500, you wrote:
>
>>I never said it wasn't a security risk...  I should have said that it is a
>>MAJOR security risk to allow direct root logins.
>>
>>...<stuff snipped out of middle>...
>><crawling back into my hole now>
>
>Actually I think your response to me quite reasonable.
>
>Here's the skinny:
>
>Since everyone knows every user box has a "root" account, if "root" 
>accounts were available through telnet, anyone could do a dictionary attack 
>on every server running telnet.  As is, without root access, in order to do 
>a dictionary attack, the attacker needs to know at least one login 
>name.  Since everyone does for Cobalt boxes <admin>, you don't gain any 
>security if you've got Cobalt boxes, and let everyone know it.
>
>One way to get some additional security would be to have a program running 
>suid that would let you go into su, reading the password from a -r-------- 
>file.  Of course this only works if the name of the program is so obscure, 
>and the file is hidden as well, that no one could ever guess it's name.
>
>All bets are off if someone's sniffiing you, though; then they see 
>everything you type <frown>.
>
>Jeff
>
>--
>Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
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