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LINUX ADVISORY
WATCH - This week, advisories were released for krb5, heimdal, phpgadmin,
ekg, heartbeat, affix, zlib, cacti, java, diskdumputils, radvd, bind, kdelibs,
freeradius, firefox, thunderbird, ypserv, mysql, setarch, openoffice, pvm, fetchmail,
mozilla, epiphany, devhelp, yelp, php, ruby, acroread, phpgroupware, dhcpd,
mediawiki, cpio, shorewall, and kdenetwork. The distributors include Debian,
Fedora, Gentoo, and Red Hat.
LinuxSecurity.com
Feature Extras:
Linux File
& Directory Permissions Mistakes - One common mistake Linux administrators
make is having file and directory permissions that are far too liberal and
allow access beyond that which is needed for proper system operations. A full
explanation of unix file permissions is beyond the scope of this article,
so I'll assume you are familiar with the usage of such tools as chmod, chown,
and chgrp. If you'd like a refresher, one is available right here on linuxsecurity.com.
Introduction:
Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities - Buffer overflows are a leading type
of security vulnerability. This paper explains what a buffer overflow is,
how it can be exploited, and what countermeasures can be taken to prevent
the use of buffer overflow vulnerabilities.
Getting
to Know Linux Security: File Permissions - Welcome to the first
tutorial in the 'Getting to Know Linux Security' series. The topic explored
is Linux file permissions. It offers an easy to follow explanation of how
to read permissions, and how to set them using chmod. This guide is intended
for users new to Linux security, therefore very simple.
Bulletproof
Virus Protection - Protect your network from costly security
breaches with Guardian Digital’s multi-faceted security applications.
More then just an email firewall, on demand and scheduled scanning detects
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to find out more!
Take advantage of our Linux Security discussion
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Thank you for reading the LinuxSecurity.com
weekly security newsletter. The purpose of this document is to provide our readers
with a quick summary of each week's most relevant Linux security headline.
Domain Hijacking Takes ICANN Spotlight
18th, July, 2005
Web sites both big and small face the risk of having their Web
addresses stolen because of flaws in the way domain names are registered,
transferred and tracked, a report released this week found.
Constant monitoring and troubleshooting are key to maintaining
a network's availability. With ngrep, you can analyze network traffic
in a manner similar to that of other network sniffers. However, unlike
its brethern, ngrep can match regular expressions within the network packet
payloads. By using its advanced string matching capabilities, ngrep can
look for packets on specified ports and assist in tracking the usernames
and passwords zipping off the network, as well as all Telnet attempts
to the server.
This is a review of the new release of LANguard Network Security
Scanner (GFI LANguard NSS) from GFI. NSS will scan computers for known
vulnerabilities and common misconfigurations and other potential security
issues. It produces reports that can be used to assist in the tracking
and mitigation of security issues that have been identified. Furthermore,
NSS provides patch management capabilities that allow you to centrally
download and push out patches to systems with identified vulnerabilities.
Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free utility for network exploration
and security auditing. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks,
although it works fine against single hosts. Nmap uses raw IP packets
in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what
services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what
operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet
filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. Nmap
runs on most types of computers and both console and graphical versions
are available. Nmap is free software, available with full source code
under the terms of the GNU GPL. Read
at TuxJournal.net http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119797
Mozilla Fixes Thunderbird Flaws In 1.0.5
18th, July, 2005
The Mozilla Foundation this week updated its rival to Microsoft
Outlook, the Thunderbird stand-alone POP3 e-mail and news client, to plug
some of the same security holes that earlier were fixed in the open-source
group's popular Firefox browser.
In the next few months, ISPs in the United States will begin
receiving reports on the zombies, or PCs open to control by hackers, that
lurk on their networks. The data will be sent out by the Federal Trade
Commission, which said in May that zombies have become such a serious
problem that more industry action is required.
A gaping security hole in a popular Firefox browser extension
could allow malicious hackers to hijack files from a user's hard drive,
developers warned Tuesday.
The vulnerability was flagged in Greasemonkey, the Firefox add-on
that allows users to load custom scripts that modify Web sites on the
fly.
Backers of open standards-based interoperable authentication
technologies are happy to report growing membership in the authentication
initiative known as OATH, which released its OATH Reference Architecture
Version 1.0 specification for cross-device authentication in May. Now
they're working to convince more organizations, many of which are reportedly
unaware of the option, to go beyond disparate, proprietary standards or
one-word passwords.
The next version of Firefox has been delayed for a few months,
the Mozilla Foundation confirmed Thursday. Earlier Mozilla stated on its
Web site that the next major release of Firefox, called version 1.1, would
be released in July. But on Wednesday, lead Firefox engineer Ben Goodger
updated the group's roadmap to indicate that the next major release would
now not be until after August.
Hacker Mitnick preaches social engineering
awareness
22nd, July, 2005
Properly trained staff, not technology, is the best protection
against social engineering attacks on sensitive information, according
to security consultant and celebrity hacker Kevin Mitnick.
Linux Security, Audit and Control Guidance
Featured In New Book
22nd, July, 2005
More than 10 years after its debut, Linux has matured from a
student hobby to a highly respected platform used by major organizations
worldwide. Because of this growing popularity and increased legislation
requiring tight controls over IT, the Information Systems Audit and Control
Association (ISACA) has issued a new publication with detailed guidance
on security, audit and control of Linux.
What with country singer Lee Greenwood's recorded rendition
of patriot songs like "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" and "God Bless America"
playing over the sound system at 8:30 a.m. in the Commerce Department
auditorium in Washington, D.C., one could have been excused for thinking
the July 20 conference: "Pharmers and Spimmers, Hackers and Bluejackers:
Combating Wireless Security Threats" was taking place during a national
emergency. Far from it.
