Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!emory!gatech!prism!mailer.cc.fsu.edu!nu!boyd
From: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.admin
Subject: Re: Kmem security (was: Re: How do you make your UNIX crash ???)
Message-ID: <1991Apr8.213109.1949@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 91 01:59:57 GMT
References: <1991Mar12.132003.27383@cs.widener.edu> <1991Mar24.203327.18426@ttank.ttank.com> <638@minya.UUCP>
Reply-To: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu
Distribution: usa
Organization: Florida State Universiy Computer Science Department
Lines: 31

In article <638@minya.UUCP>, jc@minya.UUCP (John Chambers) writes:
>
>> Safer would be:
>> strings /dev/kmem | tr ' ' '^J' | sort -u | more
>> and do a /rootpassword
>
>OK; that didn't crash the system; I just got a few random-looking strings,
>followed by::
>	/rootpassword: Command not found.
>What was it supposed to do?  Maybe I'm not a real Unix hacker, after
>all; I haven't even heard of a "rootpassword" command.  Am I missing
>something good?  I also looked around on some of the BSD and Ultrix
>systems at work, and there was nothing called "rootpassword" anywhere
>in any of their filesystems.
>

This was to invoke a search for the string "rootpassword" in more.  It is 
not a standalone command, it is a modifier within more.  It could be argued
that it is one of the more useful features of more.  My question is why
the string "rootpassword" would be anywhere (perhaps the poster intended
for the real root password to be substituted, just to show how easy it 
can be found.  A potential intruder would have to try all the strings 
found, but this is still a drastically reduced searchspace). 

--
    ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
             Mickey R. Boyd          |  "Kirk to Enterprise.  All clear 
          FSU Computer Science       |      down here.  Beam down    
        Technical Support Group      |      yeoman Rand and a six-pack . ."
      email:  boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu  |               
    ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------