OSEC

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Bugtraq archives for 2nd quarter (Apr-Jun) 1996: Re: Not so much a bug as a warning of new brute force attack

Re: Not so much a bug as a warning of new brute force attack

Christopher X. Candreva (chriswestnet.com)
Mon, 3 Jun 1996 08:37:37 -0400 

On Sat, 1 Jun 1996, Brett L. Hawn wrote:

> Given a file full of usernames and the standard 'dict file' one can
> currently connect to the pop3 daemon and effiecently try passwords for a
> user until the proper one is gotten or one runs out of passwords without any
> noticeable effects on the server. I've tested this method myself using

Which pop3 server are you using ?

The U of Washington POP/IMAP package has a timer in it, and disconnects
after 3 failures.

It does not, however, check for a valid log-in shell (that the user's
shell exists in /etc/shells). Since I use an invalid shell to disable
accounts, I made a small patch to enable this feature.

-Chris

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Chris Candreva  -- chriswestnet.com -- (914) 967-7816
WestNet Internet Services of Westchester
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