Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site duke.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!duke!rrt From: rrt@duke.UUCP (Russell R. Tuck) Newsgroups: net.micro.att Subject: Re: pc7300 security Message-ID: <6055@duke.UUCP> Date: Mon, 5-Aug-85 10:14:59 EDT Article-I.D.: duke.6055 Posted: Mon Aug 5 10:14:59 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 7-Aug-85 02:33:21 EDT References: <141@gwsd.UUCP> <316@ttrdc.UUCP> Reply-To: rrt@duke.UUCP (Russell R. Tuck) Organization: Duke University Lines: 37 Summary: In article <316@ttrdc.UUCP> kad@ttrdc.UUCP (Keith Drescher) writes: >You can keep users from accessing UNIX System via the User Agent (ua) >by editing /usr/lib/ua/Office. Simply comment out the line with >UNIX System and the few lines following it (Default = , Open =, etc) >by placing #'s in front of them. This keeps anyone from accessing >UNIX from ua by removing UNIX System from the Office menu. No, they can put it back into their Office menu by putting a file called Office in their home directory with the following lines: Name=UNIX window Default = Run Run=EXEC -w $SHELL All menu items in this file are added to the Office window, replacing any identically-named items. (They can get to the shell the first time with "!sh", as noted in another article.) >Note: if you so wish, (and I doubt it) you can change whatever option >is currently on Open (Open=EXEC -?.... to Open=EXEC -dp ....) >this opens a UNIX shell with root permissions, # prompt and >everything. How's that for lack of security? It's worse than that! Any user can do this to their own Office file, with the same effect. Thus, the following lines in a user's home directory Office file will put a root shell menu item in the Office window: Name=Root Shell Default = Run Run=EXEC -pd $SHELL This is documented on page 6 of the UA(4) manual entry. I discussed this with someone on the AT&T Support Hotline. He was unaware of this particular "feature" (sic) (ie, bug) of the User Agent, but said that the next release ("in the fourth quarter") is supposed to have much improved security. Let's hope so! Russ Tuck Duke University Computer Science Department rrt@duke