Re: massive lpr exploit attempt

From: Pavel Lozhkin (pauelat_private)
Date: Wed Jun 27 2001 - 00:18:33 PDT

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    I keep getting these entries into my log file at least 50-100 per hour.
    It was started two weeks ago.
    
    Tony Lambiris wrote:
    
    > I had only recieved one of these entry in my log file:
    >
    > Jun 25 09:00:10 eclipse ipmon[29285]: 09:00:10.339608             fxp0 @0:1
    > b 155.135.31.128,1100 -> xx.xx.xx.xx,515 PR tcp len 20 60 -S IN
    >
    > > -----Original Message-----
    > > From: r.fultonat_private [mailto:r.fultonat_private]
    > > Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2001 6:42 PM
    > > To: incidentsat_private
    > > Subject: massive lpr exploit attempt
    > >
    > >
    > > Yesterday (Sunday 24th) we were attacked from several different IP
    > > using an iterated X86 lpr exploit against any machine that response on
    > > port 515.  Even though we block 515 for the vast bulk of our addresses
    > > I logged over 80,000 probes to the 20 or so addresses that responded!
    > >
    > > These attacks are the same as I saw a few months ago (hmm...  I'm sure
    > > I posted something about them then but I can't find anything in the
    > > archives). One feature of these attacks is that while the attacker is
    > > trying exploits on port 515 they are also making connection attempts on
    > > port 3897 (presumably looking for a root shell that signals that one of
    > > the exploits succeeded).  Thus if you run argus then you can pick up
    > > any successful exploits by dumping all established tcp sessions to port
    > > 3897.
    > >
    > > Overall there were 25 source addresses involved and at one time there
    > > were 10 active at once.  Since this attack requires tcp connections to
    > > deliver the exploit I don't believe any of these were decoys.
    > >
    > > At midnight -- well 23:16 (local time) the activity stopped (odd -
    > > probably coincidence), however I have seen at least 10 lpr scans of
    > > another class C network that I monitor this morning.  Since there are
    > > no machines on this network that respond to lpr probes I can't state
    > > with any certainty that these are the same tool/worm/whatever although
    > > the scans look the same.
    > >
    > > This activity puzzles me.  If this is some sort of coordinated attack
    > > then it seems very wasteful of resources  why repeat the attack from
    > > so many different sources?  One possible explaination is that the
    > > different attackers were trying different offset ranges in their
    > > exploits -- I have the tcp dump logs from snort if anyone wants to test
    > > this hypothetis.
    > >
    > > The other possible explaination is that this attack has now been loaded
    > > into a worm, but if that is the case why the relatively narrow time
    > > window.  (time will tell if this is a small part of a wider
    > > distribution and that the clump is just coincidence).
    > >
    > > Cheers, Russell.
    > >
    > >
    > > Russell Fulton, Computer and Network Security Officer
    > > The University of Auckland,  New Zealand
    > >
    > >
    >
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    --
    
    Pavel
    IT Manager of Ixcelerator
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