Depenguinator migrates Linux systems to BSD
Depenguinator made it possible to migrate a Linux system to FreeBSD remotely without physical access.
Read the full postBlog 2003
11 posts
Projects, Linux, networks, systems, finds and internet standards from 2003.
Linux kernel 2.4.22 released
In August 2003 Marcelo Tosatti released Linux kernel 2.4.22, which above all reworked ACPI support. There were also improvements to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB and 64-bit processors; the version was identical to release candidate 4. At the same time, test versions of kernel 2.6 with a new scheduler, better memory management and a faster IP stack were available.
Read the full postLinux kernel developer Cox withdraws for a year
In 2003 Alan Cox announced on the kernel mailing list a one-year withdrawal from Linux development starting in September. Cox’s employer Red Hat granted leave for an MBA course, and improving Cox’s Welsh was also on the agenda. Cox, often described as the second most important kernel developer, named successors for the areas concerned and, given the grown community, no longer felt like a “crucial cog”.
Read the full postCritical security hole in the wu-ftpd server
In 2003 Janusz Niewiadomski published a buffer overflow in the FTP server wu-ftpd, versions 2.5.0 to 2.6.2, on Bugtraq. The function fb_realpath() mishandled paths longer than 4096 bytes; anyone with write access who was allowed to create directories could exploit it. The major distributions delivered updates; as a workaround, prohibiting new directories with “upload … nodirs” helped.
Read the full postRFC 3550: RTP: Transporting real-time media
RFC 3550 describes RTP and RTCP for time-critical audio and video data over packet-switched networks. Real-time communication optimises for timely rather than perfect delivery. Measurable quality feedback enables adaptive media transmission.
Read the full postRFC 3490: Internationalised domain names
RFC 3490 introduced IDNA so that Unicode domain names can be carried over the ASCII-based DNS. RFC 3490 was superseded by RFC 5890. Compatibility layers extend old infrastructure without breaking the protocol.
Read the full postDetecting network attacks with Snort
Snort detects suspicious network packets based on rules and supports structured attack analysis.
Read the full postSecurity hole in the encryption of Outlook 2002 (update)
In January 2003 Outlook 2002 sent emails unencrypted even though users had chosen encryption with a V1 Exchange Server Security certificate. The bug only affected HTML messages and only this method; PGP and S/MIME were not affected. Microsoft provided a patch, initially only in English and a few days later in German as well.
Read the full postAMD presents flash memory with security functions
In January 2003 AMD presented the Am29PDL640G flash memory with 64 megabits and multi-level security functions, including 64-bit password protection. It was intended for mobile phones and set-top boxes and was meant to prevent hackers from making calls at other people’s expense or pirating pay TV. The chip was also supposed to extend battery life.
Read the full postSecurity hole in ISC DHCPD
In January 2003 the Internet Software Consortium found holes in its DHCP server ISC dhcpd during a code review that allowed attackers to execute code remotely, usually with root privileges. Versions 3.0 to 3.0.1RC10 were affected. The bug lay in the error handling of the minires library, which is used for dynamic DNS updates.
Read the full postExamining devices with JTAG
The talk presents JTAG as a hardware-level interface for debugging processors, examining memory and analysing embedded devices. Manufacturing interfaces often turn into powerful analysis tools after production. Physical access fundamentally changes the threat model of embedded systems.
Read the full post