Attackers seek vulnerable Veritas Backup installations

Users urged to apply patch

By Peter Sayer

June 30, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

IDG News Service - Attackers are already exploiting security flaws reported by Veritas Software Corp. last week in its remote backup agent to take control of computers running the software, according to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).
US-CERT urged users of the software, Veritas Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Servers, to apply a security patch issued by Veritas.
The software is used to remotely trigger backup of data on servers. It listens for commands addressed to it on TCP Port 10,000, but there is a flaw in the way it authenticates those commands. If attackers send an overlong password, the software may crash, and if the overlong password is formed in a particular way, the computer can be forced to execute code of the attackers' choice with the privileges of the local system, allowing them to take control of the computer.
Veritas notified customers of the danger on June 22 and immediately issued a patch for affected versions of the software. It said it had been notified of the flaw by security consultancy iDefense Inc.
In the days since Veritas revealed the danger, US-CERT has seen an increase in the number of computers scanning TCP Port 10,000, which it believes are attempts to locate vulnerable systems, it said yesterday. Code to exploit the flaw is publicly available, it said, and it has received credible reports that this code is being used to take control of systems.
US-CERT urged companies running the affected software to immediately apply patches issued by Veritas, or to use a firewall to filter traffic arriving on Port 10,000 so as only to accept commands from backup servers.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Viruses

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Share our Strength
Download Now

Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce through Automation
Download This Resource Now!

Top 10 Things to Know about Data Protection
Download Now

Managing Mobility: Improve Data Security, Compliance and Manageability
Download This Resource Now!

Top 10 Actions a CIO Can Take to Prepare for a Hurricane
Download Now

Managing Secure File Transfer to Save Time, Money and IT Resources
Learn how companies are using innovative technology to overcome these challenges and improve user productivity by offloading e-mail attachments and replacing FTP with...

Ponemon Study: The Business Risk of a Lost Laptop
Download Now

Security Convergence Equals Network Security Cost Savings
Listen to IBM Internet Security Systems' take on network security convergence.

Airport Insecurity: The Case of Lost Laptops
Download Now

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...

All White Papers | All Webcasts