Author: Benjamin D. Thomas
helixplayer, tzdata, libtool, firefox, ipsec-tools, dmraid, gaim,
libexif, gimp, yum, grip, libXpm, xv, ImageMagick, Hashcash, mlterm,
dcoidlng, curl, gftp, cyrus-imapd, unixODBC, and mc. The distributors
include Conectiva, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandrake, Red Hat, and
SuSE.STRATEGIES AND COUNTERMEASURES
By: Raymond Ankobia
This discusses strategies and countermeasures that will help
alleviate threats and vulnerabilities commonly found in web
application development.
3.1 Security Management Programs
A security policy drafted and implemented from a holistic viewpoint
with full approval of senior executives. There must be security
education and awareness campaigns for the development team and
administrators to foster a secure development lifecycle. Policies
will ensure secure configuration of web servers and back end databases.
Key amongst education campaigns is social engineering [8][7] where
the attacker deceitfully extracts information directly from authorized
people.
3.2 Deployment of Application Firewalls
This is a fairly new concept
that offers use of gateways that specifically operate at the
application layer. These are stateful, intelligent and content
driven programmes/appliances that operate by checking web content.
This allows for evaluation of attack signatures and exploits and
prevents them from impacting on the targets. They look out and allow
legitimate requests of users to reach the backend servers and
databases whilst preventing, logging and alerting administrators of
malicious activities. Even though these may be able to do a far better
job of analysing application content including graphics, they
are not a panacea and the battle is far from over. Malicious and
encrypted content will still get through firewalls [6].
3.3 Using SSL/TLS (HTTPS) Protocol
SSL/TLS has become the de-facto protocol for deploying secure web
applications running on HTTP. It is based on Public Key Technology
and X509 certificates, and defined by the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IEFT) RFC 2246. This is supported in most web browsers and
provides a secure tunnel between the client and the server. The server
side almost always authenticates to the client by making available its
public key to the client for verification; thereby offering a mechanism
to identify rogue servers that impersonate by spoofing IP addresses
with wrong DNS entries [8][7].
In most situations, the client side authentication is optional. This is
due largely to the overhead of requiring every client to have a public
key. This provides confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of
transactions between both ends of the traffic. However, it must be
emphasised that hackers concentrate on attacking the endpoints’;
poor deployment and implementation of applications and databases make
easy break-ins.
Poor implementation of a secure protocol does not make it any better.
Attention to detailed instructions from these specifications is
imperative to get it right.
3.4 Sandboxing and Code Signing
This idea for using sandboxes and signing of code (especially mobile
code) is to introduce trust and assurance to the end user as to the
origin of the application in question. Sandboxes are restricted and
non-privileged operating environments [2][1]. Java Applets use this
approach by encapsulating permissions and rights to resources within
the programme itself.
This provides a safer environment as the Java Virtual Machine (embedded
in most browsers) consults the security manager for any violations or
privileged system calls that may compromise the local computer. The
author of a code may digitally sign it to give some authenticity and
confidence to the end user; allowing that signature to be publicly
verified using a certified public directory.
Authenticode is the approach by Microsoft for digitally signing code
to provide trust and authenticity of origin. Developers of ActiveX
controls/programmes may likewise sign the code to give similar level
of trust and authenticity. However, discretion is left entirely to the
user to check the authenticity of the digital signatures. [2] Clearly
declares, “A digital signature does not, however, provide any guarantee
of benevolence or competence”. The Sandboxing (by Sun Microsystems)
approach offers better assurance since it comes with a built-in
security reference monitor that checks the access controls of the
objects. These architectures are designed with Public Key Infrastructure
(PKI) in mind and require education and awareness programmes on key
management and certification authorities.
3.5 Use of Honeypots
These are used to lure potential crackers / hackers. The principle is
one of falsifying information and placing it where hackers will
eventually find it. The original concept seem to have come from [9]
where he managed to bait hackers with falsified information which
eventually led to their capture. This allows for the footprints of
malicious activities to be logged, monitored and analysed. They help
analyse the weak points that may are exposed with subsequent
introduction of countermeasures that will seal any weaknesses that
may be exploited. Use of this technology does have some legal
implications. There is a debate as to whether this is enticement or
entrapment and may require legal interpretation before use.
3.6 Using SiteDigger
This is a tool developed by Foundstone Professional Services to help
web application developers and administrators test the efficacy of
security measures incorporated during design. It works in conjunction
with certain API’s which will need to be downloaded from Google’s
website (http://www.google.com/apis/). This tool will help the web application developer or administrator to scan and generate reports
of any leakages on a particular website.
3.7 ISO/IEC 17799 (Part I)
This was originally a British code of practice for Information
Security Management and was later adopted by ISO as a Standard [5].
This has many facets for compliance and one of them is Systems
Development and Maintenance. Part II of this, is for accreditation (currently being vetted by ISO for standardisation).
It engages the certifying party through a rigorous compliance
process, which includes the integration of controls and audit trails
built into application systems. It encourages stringent checks and
controls, Input data validation, message authentication to guard
against unauthorised changes, output validation to ensure correct
input and processing (the old adage “Garbage In, Garbage out), and
the use of cryptographic controls to protect the confidentiality
and integrity of information.
It also envisages strict and secure change control procedures
and principle of least principle, by making sure that support
developers are only given access to areas of their domain.
3.8 Security Audit
Self-Hack Audit [1]. The self-hack audit is an approach that uses
methodology used by developers to identify and eliminate security
weaknesses in an application before they are discovered and
compromised. This will include checking login prompts, brute forcing
passwords and setting up limits for login attempts. Penetration
Testing. Particular mention is made of The Open Web Application
Security Project (OWASP), which is an Open source platform used as
a benchmark for testing web application vulnerabilities.
Read Entire Article:
http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/118427/49/
LinuxSecurity.com
Feature Extras: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. If the feedback is
good, I’ll consider creating more complex guides for advanced users. Please
let us know what you think and how these can be improved.The
Tao of Network Security Monitoring: Beyond Intrusion Detection
– To be honest, this was one of the best books that I’ve read on network security.
Others books often dive so deeply into technical discussions, they fail to
provide any relevance to network engineers/administrators working in a corporate
environment. Budgets, deadlines, and flexibility are issues that we must all
address. The Tao of Network Security Monitoring is presented in such a way
that all of these are still relevant.Encrypting
Shell Scripts – Do you have scripts that contain sensitive information
like passwords and you pretty much depend on file permissions to keep it secure?
If so, then that type of security is good provided you keep your system secure
and some user doesn’t have a “ps -ef” loop running in an attempt to capture
that sensitive info (though some applications mask passwords in “ps” output).
Take advantage of our Linux Security discussion
list! This mailing list is for general security-related questions and comments.
To subscribe send an e-mail to security-discuss-request@linuxsecurity.com
with “subscribe” as the subject.
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.
| Conectiva | ||
| Conectiva: clamav Fix for denial of service in clamav |
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3rd, March, 2005
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| Conectiva: kernel Kernel fixes | ||
7th, March, 2005
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| Conectiva: squid Fixes for multiple squid vulnerabilities |
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8th, March, 2005
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| Debian | ||
| Debian: New abuse packages fix local root exploit |
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7th, March, 2005
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| Debian: New kppp packages fix privileged file descriptor leak |
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8th, March, 2005
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| Fedora | ||
| Fedora Core 3 Update: HelixPlayer-1.0.3-3.fc3 | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: tzdata-2005f-1.fc3 | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: tzdata-2005f-1.fc2 | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: kernel-2.6.10-1.770_FC2 | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: kernel-2.6.10-1.770_FC3 | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: libtool-1.5.6-4.FC3.1 | ||
4th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: firefox-1.0.1-1.3.2 | ||
4th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: ipsec-tools-0.5-0.fc2 | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: ipsec-tools-0.5-0.fc3 | ||
4th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: dmraid-1.0.0.rc6-1_FC3 | ||
7th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: selinux-policy-targeted-1.17.30-2.85 | ||
7th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: ipsec-tools-0.5-1.fc2 | ||
7th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: ipsec-tools-0.5-1.fc3 | ||
7th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: gaim-1.1.4-1.FC2 | ||
7th, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: gaim-1.1.4-1.FC3 | ||
7th, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: libexif-0.5.12-2.2 | ||
8th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: libexif-0.5.12-3.1 | ||
8th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: gimp-2.2.4-0.fc3.1 | ||
8th, March, 2005
|
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| Subject: Fedora Core 3 Update: yum-2.2.0-0.fc3 | ||
8th, March, 2005
|
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| Fedora Core 3 Update: grip-3.2.0-4 | ||
9th, March, 2005
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| Fedora Core 2 Update: grip-3.2.0-3.fc2 | ||
9th, March, 2005
|
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| Gentoo | ||
| Gentoo: BidWatcher Format string vulnerability | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| Gentoo: OpenMotif, LessTif New libXpm buffer overflows |
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4th, March, 2005
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| Gentoo: xv Filename handling vulnerability | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Gentoo: Mozilla Firefox Various vulnerabilities | ||
4th, March, 2005
|
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| Gentoo: ImageMagick Filename handling vulnerability |
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6th, March, 2005
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| Gentoo: Hashcash Format string vulnerability | ||
6th, March, 2005
|
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| Gentoo: mlterm Integer overflow vulnerability | ||
7th, March, 2005
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| Gentoo: KDE dcopidlng Insecure temporary file creation |
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7th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake | ||
| Mandrake: Updated curl packages fix | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated gaim packages fix | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated gftp packages fix | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated cyrus-imapd packages | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated imap packages include | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated kdegraphics packages | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated unixODBC packages | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| Mandrake: Updated dynamic packages | ||
8th, March, 2005
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| Red Hat |
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| RedHat: Moderate: squid security update | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Low: kdenetwork security update | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Critical: RealPlayer security update |
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3rd, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Critical: HelixPlayer security update |
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3rd, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Important: xpdf security update | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Moderate: mc security update | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| RedHat: Critical: mozilla security update | ||
4th, March, 2005
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| SuSE | ||
| SuSE: cyrus-sasl remote code execution | ||
3rd, March, 2005
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| SuSE: RealPlayer remote buffer overflow | ||
9th, March, 2005
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