hosts_access(5) - phpMan

HOSTS_ACCESS(5)               File Formats Manual              HOSTS_ACCESS(5)

NAME
       hosts_access - format of host access control files
DESCRIPTION
       This  manual  page  describes  a simple access control language that is
       based on client (host name/address, user  name),  and  server  (process
       name,  host name/address) patterns.  Examples are given at the end. The
       impatient reader is encouraged to skip to the EXAMPLES  section  for  a
       quick introduction.
       An  extended version of the access control language is described in the
       hosts_options(5) document. The extensions  are  turned  on  at  program
       build time by building with -DPROCESS_OPTIONS.
       In the following text, daemon is the the process name of a network dae-
       mon process, and client is the name and/or address of a host requesting
       service.  Network  daemon process names are specified in the inetd con-
       figuration file.
ACCESS CONTROL FILES
       The access control software consults two files. The search stops at the
       first match:
       o      Access  will  be  granted when a (daemon,client) pair matches an
              entry in the /etc/hosts.allow file.
       o      Otherwise, access will be denied  when  a  (daemon,client)  pair
              matches an entry in the /etc/hosts.deny file.
       o      Otherwise, access will be granted.
       A  non-existing  access  control file is treated as if it were an empty
       file. Thus, access control can be turned off  by  providing  no  access
       control files.
ACCESS CONTROL RULES
       Each access control file consists of zero or more lines of text.  These
       lines are processed in order of appearance. The search terminates  when
       a match is found.
       o      A  newline  character  is ignored when it is preceded by a back-
              slash character. This permits you to break up long lines so that
              they are easier to edit.
       o      Blank  lines  or  lines  that  begin  with  a  `#' character are
              ignored.  This permits you to insert comments and whitespace  so
              that the tables are easier to read.
       o      All  other  lines  should  satisfy  the following format, things
              between [] being optional:
                 daemon_list : client_list [ : shell_command ]
       daemon_list is a list of one or more daemon process names (argv[0] val-
       ues) or wildcards (see below).
       client_list  is  a list of one or more host names, host addresses, pat-
       terns or wildcards (see below) that will be matched against the  client
       host name or address.
       The  more  complex forms daemon@host and user@host are explained in the
       sections on server endpoint patterns and on  client  username  lookups,
       respectively.
       List elements should be separated by blanks and/or commas.
       With  the  exception  of  NIS (YP) netgroup lookups, all access control
       checks are case insensitive.
PATTERNS
       The access control language implements the following patterns:
       o      A string that begins with  a  `.'  character.  A  host  name  is
              matched  if  the last components of its name match the specified
              pattern.  For example, the pattern `.tue.nl'  matches  the  host
              name `wzv.win.tue.nl'.
       o      A  string  that  ends  with  a  `.' character. A host address is
              matched if its first numeric fields match the given string.  For
              example,  the pattern `131.155.' matches the address of (almost)
              every host on the Eindhoven University network (131.155.x.x).
       o      A string that begins with an `@' character is treated as an  NIS
              (formerly  YP)  netgroup name. A host name is matched if it is a
              host member of the specified netgroup. Netgroup matches are  not
              supported for daemon process names or for client user names.
       o      An  expression of the form `n.n.n.n/m.m.m.m' is interpreted as a
              `net/mask' pair. An IPv4 host address is  matched  if  `net'  is
              equal  to  the  bitwise  AND  of the address and the `mask'. For
              example,  the  net/mask   pattern   `131.155.72.0/255.255.254.0'
              matches  every  address  in  the  range  `131.155.72.0'  through
              `131.155.73.255'.
       o      An expression of  the  form  `n.n.n.n/m'  is  interpreted  as  a
              `net/prefixlen' pair, as below, for IPv4 addresses.
       o      An  expression  of the form `[n:n:n:n:n:n:n:n/m]' is interpreted
              as a `[net/prefixlen]' pair. An IPv6 host address is matched  if
              `prefixlen'  bits  of  `net' is equal to the `prefixlen' bits of
              the  address.   For   example,   the   [net/prefixlen]   pattern
              `[3ffe:505:2:1::/64]'   matches   every  address  in  the  range
              `3ffe:505:2:1::' through `3ffe:505:2:1:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff'.
       o      A string that begins with a `/' character is treated as  a  file
              name.  A  host name or address is matched if it matches any host
              name or address pattern listed in the named file. The file  for-
              mat is zero or more lines with zero or more host name or address
              patterns separated by whitespace.  A file name  pattern  can  be
              used anywhere a host name or address pattern can be used.
       o      Wildcards  `*'  and  `?'  can  be  used to match hostnames or IP
              addresses.  This method of matching cannot be used  in  conjunc-
              tion  with `net/mask' matching, hostname matching beginning with
              `.' or IP address matching ending with `.'.
WILDCARDS
       The access control language supports explicit wildcards:
       ALL    The universal wildcard, always matches.
       LOCAL  Matches any host whose name does not contain a dot character.
       UNKNOWN
              Matches any user whose name is unknown,  and  matches  any  host
              whose  name or address are unknown.  This pattern should be used
              with care: host names may be unavailable due to  temporary  name
              server  problems. A network address will be unavailable when the
              software cannot figure out what type of network  it  is  talking
              to.
       KNOWN  Matches any user whose name is known, and matches any host whose
              name and address are known. This pattern  should  be  used  with
              care: host names may be unavailable due to temporary name server
              problems.  A network address will be unavailable when the  soft-
              ware cannot figure out what type of network it is talking to.
       PARANOID
              Matches  any  host  whose name does not match its address.  When
              tcpd is built with -DPARANOID (default mode), it drops  requests
              from  such  clients  even  before  looking at the access control
              tables.  Build without -DPARANOID when  you  want  more  control
              over such requests.
OPERATORS
       EXCEPT Intended  use  is of the form: `list_1 EXCEPT list_2'; this con-
              struct matches anything that matches list_1  unless  it  matches
              list_2.   The EXCEPT operator can be used in daemon_lists and in
              client_lists. The EXCEPT operator can be nested: if the  control
              language would permit the use of parentheses, `a EXCEPT b EXCEPT
              c' would parse as `(a EXCEPT (b EXCEPT c))'.
SHELL COMMANDS
       If the first-matched access control rule contains a shell command, that
       command  is  subjected  to  %<letter> substitutions (see next section).
       The result is executed by a /bin/sh child process with standard  input,
       output  and error connected to /dev/null.  Specify an `&' at the end of
       the command if you do not want to wait until it has completed.
       Shell commands should not rely  on  the  PATH  setting  of  the  inetd.
       Instead, they should use absolute path names, or they should begin with
       an explicit PATH=whatever statement.
       The hosts_options(5) document describes an  alternative  language  that
       uses the shell command field in a different and incompatible way.
% EXPANSIONS
       The following expansions are available within shell commands:
       %a (%A)
              The client (server) host address.
       %c     Client  information:  user@host,  user@address,  a host name, or
              just an address, depending on how much information is available.
       %d     The daemon process name (argv[0] value).
       %h (%H)
              The client (server) host name or address, if the  host  name  is
              unavailable.
       %n (%N)
              The client (server) host name (or "unknown" or "paranoid").
       %p     The daemon process id.
       %s     Server  information: daemon@host, daemon@address, or just a dae-
              mon name, depending on how much information is available.
       %u     The client user name (or "unknown").
       %%     Expands to a single `%' character.
       Characters in % expansions that may confuse the shell are  replaced  by
       underscores.
SERVER ENDPOINT PATTERNS
       In  order  to distinguish clients by the network address that they con-
       nect to, use patterns of the form:
          process_name@host_pattern : client_list ...
       Patterns like these can be used when the machine has different internet
       addresses with different internet hostnames.  Service providers can use
       this facility to offer FTP, GOPHER or WWW archives with internet  names
       that  may  even belong to different organizations. See also the `twist'
       option in the hosts_options(5) document. Some systems  (Solaris,  Free-
       BSD) can have more than one internet address on one physical interface;
       with other systems you may have to resort to SLIP or PPP pseudo  inter-
       faces that live in a dedicated network address space.
       The  host_pattern  obeys  the  same  syntax  rules  as  host  names and
       addresses in client_list context. Usually, server endpoint  information
       is available only with connection-oriented services.
CLIENT USERNAME LOOKUP
       When  the  client  host  supports  the  RFC  931 protocol or one of its
       descendants (TAP, IDENT, RFC 1413) the wrapper  programs  can  retrieve
       additional information about the owner of a connection. Client username
       information, when available, is logged together with  the  client  host
       name, and can be used to match patterns like:
          daemon_list : ... user_pattern@host_pattern ...
       The  daemon wrappers can be configured at compile time to perform rule-
       driven username lookups (default) or to always interrogate  the  client
       host.   In  the  case  of  rule-driven username lookups, the above rule
       would cause username lookup only when  both  the  daemon_list  and  the
       host_pattern match.
       A  user pattern has the same syntax as a daemon process pattern, so the
       same wildcards apply  (netgroup  membership  is  not  supported).   One
       should not get carried away with username lookups, though.
       o      The  client  username  information  cannot be trusted when it is
              needed most, i.e. when the client system has  been  compromised.
              In  general,  ALL  and (UN)KNOWN are the only user name patterns
              that make sense.
       o      Username lookups are possible only with TCP-based services,  and
              only  when  the client host runs a suitable daemon; in all other
              cases the result is "unknown".
       o      A well-known UNIX kernel bug may  cause  loss  of  service  when
              username  lookups  are blocked by a firewall. The wrapper README
              document describes a procedure to find out if  your  kernel  has
              this bug.
       o      Username lookups may cause noticeable delays for non-UNIX users.
              The default timeout for username  lookups  is  10  seconds:  too
              short to cope with slow networks, but long enough to irritate PC
              users.
       Selective username lookups can alleviate the last problem. For example,
       a rule like:
          daemon_list : @pcnetgroup ALL@ALL
       would  match members of the pc netgroup without doing username lookups,
       but would perform username lookups with all other systems.
DETECTING ADDRESS SPOOFING ATTACKS
       A flaw in the sequence number generator of many TCP/IP  implementations
       allows  intruders  to  easily impersonate trusted hosts and to break in
       via, for example, the remote shell service.  The  IDENT  (RFC931  etc.)
       service  can  be  used  to  detect such and other host address spoofing
       attacks.
       Before accepting a client request, the wrappers can use the IDENT  ser-
       vice to find out that the client did not send the request at all.  When
       the client host provides IDENT service, a negative IDENT lookup  result
       (the client matches `UNKNOWN@host') is strong evidence of a host spoof-
       ing attack.
       A positive IDENT lookup result (the  client  matches  `KNOWN@host')  is
       less  trustworthy.  It  is  possible  for an intruder to spoof both the
       client connection and the IDENT  lookup,  although  doing  so  is  much
       harder  than spoofing just a client connection. It may also be that the
       client's IDENT server is lying.
       Note: IDENT lookups don't work with UDP services.
EXAMPLES
       The language is flexible enough that different types of access  control
       policy  can  be expressed with a minimum of fuss. Although the language
       uses two access control tables, the most common policies can be  imple-
       mented with one of the tables being trivial or even empty.
       When  reading  the  examples  below it is important to realize that the
       allow table is scanned before the deny table, that  the  search  termi-
       nates  when  a match is found, and that access is granted when no match
       is found at all.
       The examples use host and domain names. They can be improved by includ-
       ing address and/or network/netmask information, to reduce the impact of
       temporary name server lookup failures.
MOSTLY CLOSED
       In this case, access is denied by default. Only  explicitly  authorized
       hosts are permitted access.
       The default policy (no access) is implemented with a trivial deny file:
       /etc/hosts.deny:
          ALL: ALL
       This  denies all service to all hosts, unless they are permitted access
       by entries in the allow file.
       The explicitly authorized hosts are listed  in  the  allow  file.   For
       example:
       /etc/hosts.allow:
          ALL: LOCAL @some_netgroup
          ALL: .foobar.edu EXCEPT terminalserver.foobar.edu
       The first rule permits access from hosts in the local domain (no `.' in
       the host name) and from members of  the  some_netgroup  netgroup.   The
       second  rule  permits  access  from  all hosts in the foobar.edu domain
       (notice the leading dot), with  the  exception  of  terminalserver.foo-
       bar.edu.
MOSTLY OPEN
       Here, access is granted by default; only explicitly specified hosts are
       refused service.
       The default policy (access granted) makes the allow file  redundant  so
       that it can be omitted.  The explicitly non-authorized hosts are listed
       in the deny file. For example:
       /etc/hosts.deny:
          ALL: some.host.name, .some.domain
          ALL EXCEPT in.fingerd: other.host.name, .other.domain
       The first rule denies some hosts and domains all services;  the  second
       rule still permits finger requests from other hosts and domains.
BOOBY TRAPS
       The  next  example permits tftp requests from hosts in the local domain
       (notice the leading dot).  Requests from any other  hosts  are  denied.
       Instead  of the requested file, a finger probe is sent to the offending
       host. The result is mailed to the superuser.
       /etc/hosts.allow:
          in.tftpd: LOCAL, .my.domain
       /etc/hosts.deny:
          in.tftpd: ALL: spawn (/some/where/safe_finger -l @%h | \
               /usr/ucb/mail -s %d-%h root) &
       The safe_finger command comes with  the  tcpd  wrapper  and  should  be
       installed in a suitable place. It limits possible damage from data sent
       by the remote finger server.  It gives better protection than the stan-
       dard finger command.
       The  expansion  of the %h (client host) and %d (service name) sequences
       is described in the section on shell commands.
       Warning: do not booby-trap your finger daemon, unless you are  prepared
       for infinite finger loops.
       On  network  firewall  systems  this trick can be carried even further.
       The typical network firewall only provides a limited set of services to
       the outer world. All other services can be "bugged" just like the above
       tftp example. The result is an excellent early-warning system.
DIAGNOSTICS
       An error is reported when a syntax error is found in a host access con-
       trol rule; when the length of an access control rule exceeds the capac-
       ity of an internal buffer; when an access control rule  is  not  termi-
       nated  by  a  newline character; when the result of %<letter> expansion
       would overflow an internal  buffer;  when  a  system  call  fails  that
       shouldn't.  All problems are reported via the syslog daemon.
FILES
       /etc/hosts.allow, (daemon,client) pairs that are granted access.
       /etc/hosts.deny, (daemon,client) pairs that are denied access.
SEE ALSO
       tcpd(8) tcp/ip daemon wrapper program.
       tcpdchk(8), tcpdmatch(8), test programs.
BUGS
       If  a name server lookup times out, the host name will not be available
       to the access control software, even though the host is registered.
       Domain name server lookups are case insensitive; NIS (formerly YP) net-
       group lookups are case sensitive.
AUTHOR
       Wietse Venema (wietse AT wzv.nl)
       Department of Mathematics and Computing Science
       Eindhoven University of Technology
       Den Dolech 2, P.O. Box 513,
       5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands


                                                               HOSTS_ACCESS(5)