***********************************************************************
DDN Security Bulletin 90-08 DCA DDN Defense Communications System
7 May 90 Published by: DDN Security Coordination Center
(SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL) (800) 235-3155
The DDN SECURITY BULLETIN is distributed by the DDN SCC (Security Coordination Center) under DCA contract as a means of communicating information on network and host security exposures, fixes, & concerns to security & management personnel at DDN facilities. Back issues may be obtained via FTP (or Kermit) from NIC.DDN.MIL [192.67.67.20] using login="anonymous" and password="guest". The bulletin pathname is SCC:DDN-SECURITY-yy-nn (where "yy" is the year the bulletin is issued and "nn" is a bulletin number, e.g. SCC:DDN-SECURITY-90-01).
**********************************************************************
+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
! !
! The following important advisory was issued by the Computer !
! Emergency Response Team (CERT) and is being relayed unedited !
! via the Defense Communications Agency's Security Coordination !
! Center distribution system as a means of providing DDN !
! subscribers with useful security information. !
! !
+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - +
CA-90-03 CERT Advisory
May 7, 1990
The CERT/CC has recently verified several reports of unauthorized access to Internet connected Unisys systems. The intruder(s) gained access to these systems by logging into vendor supplied default accounts; accounts that had not been given passwords by the systems' owners.
Gary Garb, Corporate Computer Security Officer for Unisys Corporation, states:
"The Unisys U5000 series UNIX systems are delivered with a number of system logins. The logins are NOT password protected when the customer receives the system. Unless the customer secures these logins, the system is vulnerable to unauthorized access."
"A complete list of these logins can be found in the /etc/passwd file. Each login is described by one record in /etc/passwd which contains a number of fields separated by colons. The second field normally would contain the encrypted password. The system logins will initially have a null second field (indicated by two adjacent colons) in their descriptive records in /etc/passwd."
"The U5000/80/85/90/95 System V Administration Guide, Volume 1 (UP13679) begins with a chapter on "System Identification and Security". On page 1-2 it states, "All logins should have passwords ... Logins that are not needed should be either removed (by deleting from /etc/passwd) or blocked (by locking the login as described in the section "Locking Unused Logins" on page 1-8). The Guide contains complete instructions on controlling logins and passwords."
"It is the user's (system administrator's) responsibility to thoroughly
read the Guide and to ensure the security of the system. *Securing the
login entries should be of the highest priority and should be accomplished
before anyone else has access to the system.*"
The CERT/CC urges administrators of Unisys systems, as well as administrators of systems provided by other vendors, to check their systems and insure all accounts are protected by passwords; passwords that are different from the default passwords provided by the vendor.
Questions regarding the security aspects of Unisys systems should be directed to:
-------
Telephone: 412-268-7090 24-hour hotline: CERT personnel answer
Past advisories and other information are available
for anonymous ftp From cert.sei.cmu.edu (128.237.253.50).