false alarms by real secure

From: Danton Nunes (dantonat_private)
Date: Tue Feb 29 2000 - 11:39:04 PST

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    Real secure traps incoming packets on tcp/25 containing certain strings
    that suggest a message being directed to a program (to:|something). It
    seems not to distinguish between message headers and message contents and
    sounds a false alarm when a message or an attachment to a message contains
    something like 'mailbox:/c|/some/funny/place'.
    
    it is possible to launch a DoS attack against firewalls with realsecure
    just sending a number of e-mails containing the offending pattern. The
    message is not delivered, returning to sendmail w/ I/O error. sendmail
    requeues and tries again later, making the alarm ring over and over again.
    
    I don't understand why realsecure mistakes normal e-mail text for an
    attack against sendmail (most versions are not vulnerable anyway). Amazingly,
    this behaviour is documented as a 'feature'.
    
    
    --
    Danton Nunes      |Informática, Consultoria e Serviços de Acesso à Internet
    InterNexo Ltda.   |  http://www.inexo.com.br/  mailto:dantonat_private
    S.J.Campos,BRASIL |  PGP: 02 D1 E2 DF 21 EC 48 69 3F D5 4D 1B 5D 73 F4 B5
    



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