From: Tyler Regas (tyler_at_pdahandyman.com)
Date: Mon Aug 22 2005 - 18:12:07 PDT
My apologies for not responding earlier. Again we are wallowing in
semantics. A security update, whether large or small, is typically
made up entirely of a patch for a buffer overrun exploit. While my
skills as a programmer are questionable, I'm a pretty damn good admin
so I've learned a few things. Buffer overruns are found by regression
testing in a lab and can be pretty hard to track down. The reason
this is done is because most system exploits are managed through such
conduits. Toss a lot of data at a process that cannot handle large
strings and it can (not will) pass unintended data which can grant
access to protected processes.
The problem is that creating these potential holes is far easier than
finding and patching them. Even the most secure OS will require these
patches, hence the changes made to Mac OS X on a regular basis. The
reason UNIX based servers don't get patched very often is because
their admins find nice places to operate from and stay there. This
same thing can be done with Windows servers, as long as you shut down
unused ports. Mac servers can be exploited just like their Linux and
Unix cousins, as long as they're running the same software like
Apache or BIND or any other common server. Of course, you won't get
into the system through such flaws.
Now, about our human foibles. I clearly, and incorrectly, suggested
that humans were the only chink in the Mac's armor. You are correct.
This is clearly untrue. However, I will stand by my claim that the
only functional exploit a Mac cracker has is Homo Sapiens and maybe a
few really smart parrots. Anything else they can do would be trite,
minimal, and ultimately meaningless... at least for now :)
On Aug 19, 2005, at 10:43 PM, Toby Hutton wrote:
> It's a matter of volume, of course. Tyler said the Mac's only flaw
> was its human users. This obviously isn't true, it's just my opinion
> it would there would be far more updates required (perhaps on par
> with Windows Update - I installed 14 new security patches yesterday
> to my XP machine at work) if it had a majority market share.
>
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