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CIAC Advisory number A- 24
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THE COMPUTER INCIDENT ADVISORY CAPABILITY
CIAC
INFORMATION NOTICE
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Password Problems with Unisys U5000 /etc/passwd
Date 08, 1990, 15:00 PST Number A-24
The following advisory was issued by the National Computer Emergency
Response Team (CERT) and has been relayed via the Defense
Communications Agency's Security Coordination Center and the various
Emergency Response Teams in the Department of Defense. This unedited
notice is reproduced below.
CERT Advisory
May 7, 1990
Unisys U5000 /etc/passwd problem
The CERT/CC has recently verified several reports of unauthorized access
to Internet connected Unisys systems. The intruder(s) gained access to
these systems by logging into vendor supplied default accounts; accounts
that had not been given passwords by the systems' owners.
Gary Garb, Corporate Computer Security Officer for Unisys Corporation,
states:
"The Unisys U5000 series UNIX systems are delivered with a number of
system logins. The logins are NOT password protected when the
customer receives the system. Unless the customer secures these logins,
the system is vulnerable to unauthorized access."
"A complete list of these logins can be found in the /etc/passwd file.
Each login is described by one record in /etc/passwd which contains a
number of fields separated by colons. The second field normally would
contain the encrypted password. The system logins will initially have
a null second field (indicated by two adjacent colons) in their descriptive
records in /etc/passwd."
"The U5000/80/85/90/95 System V Administration Guide, Volume 1 (UP13679)
begins with a chapter on "System Identification and Security". On page 1-2
it states, "All logins should have passwords ... Logins that are not needed
should be either removed (by deleting from /etc/passwd) or blocked (by
locking the login as described in the section "Locking Unused Logins" on
page 1-8). The Guide contains complete instructions on controlling logins
and passwords."
"It is the user's (system administrator's) responsibility to thoroughly
read the Guide and to ensure the security of the system. *Securing the
login entries should be of the highest priority and should be accomplished
before anyone else has access to the system.*"
The CERT/CC urges administrators of Unisys systems, as well as administrators
of systems provided by other vendors, to check their systems and insure all
accounts are protected by passwords; passwords that are different from the
default passwords provided by the vendor.
Questions regarding the security aspects of Unisys systems should be directed
to:
Gary Garb, Corporate Security Officer
Unisys Corporation
(215) 986-4038
For additional information or assistance, please contact CIAC:
David S. Brown
(415) 423-9878 or (FTS) 543-9878
FAX: (415) 294-5054, (415) 423-0913 or (415) 422-4294
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