Article View: net.sources.bugs
Article #938Security hole in smail 2.3's handling of ~/.forward
From: karl
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1987 16:04
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1987 16:04
33 lines
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1846 bytes
The posting of smail 2.3 has a large security hole in mail delivery
with regard to the use of ~/.forward files. This is a feature which I
initially added (rather badly, to be honest) and which Larry Auton saw
fit to include in 2.3 in a much better way. However, his checks for
the condition of ~/.forward are inadequate.
The code is this:
/*
** check for ~user/.forward file
** must be a regular, readable file
*/
sprintf(buf, "%s/%s", home, ".forward");
if((stat(buf, &st) >= 0)
&&((st.st_mode & S_IFMT) == S_IFREG)
&&((fp = fopen(buf, "r")) != NULL)) {
aliased = 0;
while(fgets(buf, sizeof buf, fp)) {
aliased |= recipients(addr, buf);
}
fclose(fp);
if(aliased) {
continue;
}
}
This is not sufficiently careful. It has not checked for things like
.forward being writable a non-owner of the file, a transparent
security hole. I also recommend that checks be done on the home
directory to see that it, too, is writable only by the owner, lest
some cracker "give" you a .forward file, and suddenly you stop getting
mail without knowing why.
--
Karl
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Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbatt!osu-eddie!karl From: karl@osu-eddie.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sources.bugs Subject: Security hole in smail 2.3's handling of ~/.forward Message-ID: <3150@osu-eddie.UUCP> Date: Wed, 18-Feb-87 11:04:37 EST Article-I.D.: osu-eddi.3150 Posted: Wed Feb 18 11:04:37 1987 Date-Received: Thu, 19-Feb-87 20:39:28 EST Organization: OSU Lines: 33