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Article #1282

/bin/su.nowheel corrupted - but how!?!

#1282
From: Pascal Gaudette
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1992 21:44
40 lines
2060 bytes
This is *really* very weird.

It worked six days ago, when I last su-ed, but now
my /bin/su.nowheel has been corrupted and doesn't work
anymore.

From my machine (3.0):
> nextasy>ls -l /bin/su*
> lrwxrwxrwx  1 root          10 Jan  9  1991 /bin/su -> su.nowheel@
> -r--r--r--  1 root        2448 Jul 22 11:29 /bin/su.nowheel
> -rwxr-xr-x  1 root        7096 Jul 21 12:48 /bin/su.wheel*
> 

From a healthy one (3.0):
> micro> ls -l /bin/su*
> lrwxrwxrwx  1 root          10 Feb  6  1992 /bin/su -> su.nowheel@
> -rwsr-xr-x  1 root        7048 Jul 21 18:48 /bin/su.nowheel*
> -rwxr-xr-x  1 root        7096 Jul 21 18:48 /bin/su.wheel*
> 

Notice how it's not just the permissions that have changed, the
actual file *size* is different. As it is now, even if I give
execute permission (and even set the setuid bit on - as I unwisely
did before noticing it wasn't just permissions), it doesn't run
at all (produces a few error messages and dies)... Notice the
modification dates...

How could this have happened? Do I have a malevolent hacker
on my hands? (I did give an account to someone I don't know
very well about one month ago... although I have no reasons
to suspect him of anything, and I know from /usr/adm/messages
that he hasn't tried to su root.)

Any ideas?
--
Pascal "The Rascal" Gaudette       pascal@nextasy.physics.mcmaster.ca
MacNUG president                      | *NeXTmail encouraged* 
graduate student, McMaster university | Je ne suis pas infaillible.
Physics and astronomy dep.            | Vive le Quebec LIBRE!
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Message-ID: <1992Oct7.214420.8105@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!torn!maccs!mcshub!usenet

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Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.sysadmin
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!torn!maccs!mcshub!usenet
From: pascal@nextasy.physics.mcmaster.ca (Pascal Gaudette)
Subject: /bin/su.nowheel corrupted - but how!?!
Message-ID: <1992Oct7.214420.8105@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Keywords: malevolent hacker?
Sender: usenet@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca
Nntp-Posting-Host: nextasy.physics.mcmaster.ca
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 21:44:20 GMT
Lines: 40