Slashdot Mirror
Apple Patches Kaminsky DNS Vulnerability
Alexander Burke writes "Apple has just released Security Update 2008-005, which patches BIND against the Kaminsky DNS poisoning issue. 'This update addresses the issue by implementing source port randomization to improve resilience against cache poisoning attacks. For Mac OS X v10.4.11 systems, BIND is updated to version 9.3.5-P1. For Mac OS X v10.5.4 systems, BIND is updated to version 9.4.2-P1.' It also closes the script-based local privilege escalation vulnerabilities, the most common examples of which were ARDAgent and SecurityAgent, and addresses other less-publicized security issues as well." A few days back we noted Apple's tardiness in fixing their corner of this Net-wide issue.
ISC seems to think so : http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=4810
Anybody care to test it for real using both an apple server and laptop, using dnsoarc, to get some real info?
Now if only they'd fix the 100% CPU syslogd problem that's been around since Leopard's release. leopard syslogd I don't use TimeMachine at all, so most people's theories implicating TM is probably not accurate. I'll leave the MBP on overnight and when I wake up the CPU heat is way above normal because syslogd crapped itself again. (The fan speed vs CPU heat function is also pretty sucky.) Some video glitches even start appearing when the CPU heat stays high for a while. I'm going to just kill it hourly by cron, but Apple should also get its butt in gear and just fix it.
[
No 10.3 version? Cry me a river. Are you going to complain about the lack of Windows 98 version as well?
Whooosh?
You just got troll'd!
The release notes for this patch say Bind "is not enabled by default". Why is everyone leaving out that detail when most of us do not run servers.
Quicktime streaming server, podcast producer, Fortune 500 companies with Macs needing a decent AFP stack and Workgroup Manager to control client side privileges on Mac workstations. Another reason might be a desire not to be financially sodomized by Microsoft on CAL's but the admin has a fear of Linux due to inexperience. (Not every GUI junkie has seen Webmin, KDE, Ubuntu desktop and such). A couple of good Mac Server/Administration sites are www.afp548.com and www.macenterprise.org. Hope this has been educational.
...and the BIND patch wasn't available from their upstream source until June based on the dates I see. Slow turn around on Apples part given June availability but it looks like it was in the queue behind a few other security fixes that are actually of more importance to your average Mac OS X user (very few run named and few still in a configuration that would be vulnerable).
Note folks running named could have updated BIND on their own (installed an alternate version until Apple release this software update).
http://www.juniper.net/security/auto/vulnerabilities/vuln30131.html
That's a whopping list of vulnerable stuff there.
I wonder if Apple took a survey, of who was still using older versions.
I have read probably over 40% of internet users don't use updated browsers. http://blogs.stopbadware.org/articles/2008/07/01/forty-percent-of-users-use-insecure-web-browser
If that many users can't update browsers, how many can update their OS? Especially since browsers (and updates) are mostly free, you'd think they'd be more likely to be updated!
(very few run named and few still in a configuration that would be vulnerable).
Most Mac OS X client users do not run named, but they do use the system's stub resolver, which I believe is linked to BIND and does not randomize source ports when querying your local DNS server. This means someone could spoof replies from your DNS server in response to queries coming from your Mac. This is MUCH less of a problem than a vulnerable DNS server, because it requires a very localized attack, but it's still an issue.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;