🚀 go-pugleaf

In <17988@umd5.umd.edu> matthews@oberon.umd.edu (Mike Matthews) writes:
>A virus spreads itself around by latching in to valid programs.  I've always
>believed that Unix's memory protection and file access controls would
>prohibit a true virus; nobody's been able to convince me otherwise yet.

so, get the source for something like ls (it's on ftp.uu.net).  then
modify it so that it attaches a binary file which does x (x can be
innocuous [print a smilie on the console] or destructive [halt]) to a
system command (mkdir) which is installed suid.  then, go talk to the
sysadmin and tell them that there is something wrong with your
directory.  when they cd to it and do an 'ls' (your version), bango --
virus.  this 'x' thing that the binary file does can also include
copying itself to other programs.

so, if root executes your ls, then x is attached to some program in the
system.  have your x only do it to programs which are suid.  then it's
all over the place; memory protection and file access controls fail
here.

this assumes that root has . in its path, and how many root accounts
out there do?

>------
>Mike Matthews, matthews@oberon.umd.edu (NeXTmail accepted)
>------
>I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did.  I said I
>didn't know.
>		-- Mark Twain



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