Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:4911 unix-pc.general:1855
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!uunet!xanth!ames!mailrus!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!cadre!pitt!amanue!jr
From: jr@amanue.UUCP (Jim Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,unix-pc.general
Subject: Re: /etc/pwcntl on the 3B1 (3.51), anyone?
Keywords: pwcntl login lastlog
Message-ID: <441@amanue.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 88 06:49:46 GMT
References: <7059@chinet.chi.il.us> <5439@cbmvax.UUCP> <440@uncle.UUCP>
Reply-To: jr@amanue.UUCP (Jim Rosenberg)
Organization: Amanuensis Inc., Grindstone, PA
Lines: 29

In article <440@uncle.UUCP> jbm@uncle.UUCP (John B. Milton) writes:
>For those of you who have a lot of
>public access, some of the attempts will be quite interesting. This makes pwcntl
>a good place to look for break-in attempts. A lot of typos and line noise
>"names" get entered here too.

Aaaaaaaarghhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Until this discussion I'd never taken a look at /etc/pwcntl.  When I did I
nearly had a heart attack!  On my system it was completely public.  An od -c on
this file revealed something in plain text that you don't wanna have
*ANYWHERE*.  Hint:  Have you ever by mistake typed your password to the login:
prompt?  Of course, all UNIX users should be warned that typing your password
to the login prompt can broadcast it; any user who might be doing a ps -fe at
the time could see it.  (Not on the 3b1, actually, since ps -fe on the 3b1
doesn't do the right thing.  [Dammit!])  Little did I know that this gaffe
leaves a PERMANENT record.  A [formerly] public permanent record!  I wasn't
concerned that I might have compromised a password because I knew at the time
I was the only user of the system.

To all 3b1/7300 users:  take a look at this doggoned file *TODAY*.  You might
find YOUR OWN PASSWORD (or worse!) staring you in the face.

Yet another thing to add to the list of security problems on the 3b1.
-- 
 Jim Rosenberg
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