also @ TechSpot: Asus P7P55D Deluxe Motherboard Review

Subscribe

Newsletter Our Feeds

Receive weekly updates on new articles, news and contests in your mail!

Email address:

Information Technology

Linux Security Exploit Created!

By Phantasm66, TechSpot.com
Published: June 15, 2004, 3:03 AM EST
OK, next time a penguin head (like me) is bleeting on about the merits of Linux versus any other OS in the universe, take it with a pinch of salt - Linux has security scares too, you know!

A Linux bug was recently uncovered by a young Norwegian programmer that, when exploited by a simple C program, could crash most Linux 2.4 or 2.6 distributions running on an x86 architecture. "Using this exploit to crash Linux systems requires the (ab)user to have shell access or other means of uploading and running the program—like cgi-bin and FTP access," reports the discoverer, Øyvind Sæther.

Are we going to get a Linux virus next? Read on here.

Related Stories

User Comments (3)

Post a comment
Phantasm66
on June 15, 2004
3:05 AM
Why do kick ass hackers always have names like Øyvind Sæther and how come I'm not one?

MrGaribaldi
on June 15, 2004
4:22 PM
Well, you could always change your name.

You might need to invest in a norwegian motherboard to figure out how to spell your name (using ascii codes is such a hassle),and have a bit of problem with the government computer bases, but aside from that I don't see any problems with the idea.

And if you can manage to add an 'å' into your name, you'd be way l33tEr than Øyving Sæther ;) :D

Also, don't forget Jon Lech Johansen doesn't have any special characters, and he helped to create deCSS & the iTunes format....

Per Hansson
on June 15, 2004
5:37 PM
Hmm, well, this "exploit" does not sound too serious to me...

It can not be executed remotley, i.e. requires you to have a valid login on the server.

And the only thing it does is crash the server... Not give you full access...

Nahh, I think we will have to wait a bit longer untill Linux catches up with Microsoft regarding serious security holes ;-)

And if you do not trust linux there is always OpenBSD
Only one remote hole in the default install, in more than 8 years!
http://www.openbsd.org/

Browse more commented news