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19. Netware Logging and Backdoors

This section contains info regarding logging and backdoors for Netware.

19.1 How do I leave a backdoor for Netware?

Once you are in, you want to leave a way back with supe equivalency. You can use SUPER.EXE, written for the express purpose of allowing the non-supe user to toggle on and off supe equivalency. If you use the cheesy way in (previous question), you turn on the toggle before the admin removes your supe equivalency. If you gain access to a supe equivalent account, give Guest supe equivalency and then login as Guest and toggle it on. Now get back in as the original supe account and remove the supe equivalency. Now Guest can toggle on supe equivalency whenever it's convenient.

Of course Guest doesn't have to be used, it could be another account, like an account used for e-mail administration or an e-mail router, a gateway's account, you get the idea.

Now SUPER.EXE is not completely clean. Running the Security utility or Bindfix will give away that an account has been altered at the bindery level, but the only way for an admin to clear the error is to delete and rebuild the account.

19.2 Where are the common log files in Netware?

There are several. Here is a list with their location and their purposes:

19.3 What is Accounting?

Accounting is Novell's pain in the butt way to control and manage access to the server in a way that is "accountable". The admin set up charge rates for blocks read and written, service requests, connect time, and disk storage. The account "pays" for the service by being given some number, and the accounting server deduces for these items. How the account actually pays for these items (departmental billing, cash, whatever) you may or may not want to know about, but the fact that it could be installed could leave a footprint that you've been there.

Any valid account, including non-supe accounts, can check to see if Accounting is turned on. Simply run SYSCON and try to access Accounting, if you get a message that Accounting is not installed, then guess what?

Since it is a pain to administer, many sys admins will turn it on simply to time-stamp each login and logout, track intruders, and include the node address and account name of each of these items.

19.4 How do I defeat Accounting?

Turn it off. And spoof your node address. Here's the steps -

If you can't spoof the address (some LAN cards don't allow it or require extra drivers you may not have), just turn off Accounting and leave it off or delete the NET$ACCT.DAT file located in the SYS:SYSTEM directory.

It should be noted that to turn off and on Accounting you need supe equivalent, but you don't need supe equivalence to spoof the address.

19.5 What is Intruder Detection?

Intruder Detection is Novell's way of tracking invalid password attempts. While this feature is turned off by default, most sites practicing any type of security will at minimum turn this feature on. There are several parameters to Intruder Detection. First, there is a setting for how long the server will remember a bad password attempt. Typically this is set to 30 minutes, but can be as short as 10 minutes of as long as 7 days. Then there is a setting for how many attempts will lockout the account. This is usually 3 attempts, but can be as short as 1 or as many as 7. Finally is the length the account is locked out. The default is 30 minutes but it can range from 10 minutes to 7 days.

When an Intruder Detection occurs, the server beeps and a time-stamped message is displayed on the System Console with the account name that is now locked out and the node address from where to attempt came from. This is also written to the File Server Error Log. A Supervisor or equivalent can unlock the account before it frees itself up, and the File Server Error Log can also be erased by a Supervisor or equivalent.

In a large shop, it is not unusual to see Intruder Lockouts even on a daily basis, and forgetting a password is a typical regular-user thing to do. Intruder Lockouts on Supervisor or equivalent account is usually noticed.

19.6 How do I check for Intruder Detection?

The easiest way to check for Intruder Detection is to play with a valid account that you know the password of. Try the wrong password several times. If Intruder Detection is on, the account will be locked out once you try to get back in with the correct password.

19.7 What are station/time restrictions?

Time restrictions can be placed on an account to limit the times in which an account can be logged in. In the account is already logged in and the time changes to a restricted time, the account is logged out. The restriction can be per weekday down to the half hour. That means that if an admin wants to restrict an account from logging in except on Monday through Friday from 8-5, it can be done. Only Supervisor and equivalents can alter time restrictions. Altering the time at the workstation will not get you around time restrictions, only altering time at the server can change the ability to access.

Station restriction place a restriction on where an account can be used. Restrictions can be to a specific token ring or ethernet segment, and can be specific down to the MAC layer address, or node address. The only way around a station restriction at the node address is to spoof the address from a workstation on the same segment or ring as the address you are spoofing. Like time restrictions, only Supervisor and equivalents can alter station restrictions.

Of course you can remove station and time restrictions in SYSCON if you are a Supe equivalent.


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