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Message from discussion VMS security vulnerability (POP server)
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dclhac...@gmail.com  
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 More options Jul 4 2007, 2:11 pm
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
From: dclhac...@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:11:22 -0700
Local: Wed, Jul 4 2007 2:11 pm
Subject: Re: VMS security vulnerability (POP server)
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On Jul 2, 12:10 am, John Santos <j...@egh.com> wrote:

> Plain vanilla POP3 isn't very secure since the usernames and passwords are
> transmitted in plain text.  There is an alternate APOP authorization method
> that uses shared secrets instead.  I haven't tried setting this up.

APOP works well in TCP/IP Services and setup is trivial.  The username
is still passed in the clear, but the password is not.  Setup can be
summarized as:

1. Create a POP_SECRET.DAT file with your passphrase in your VMSmail
directory (secure it so that only the owner has access).
2. If necessary, tell your client that you're going to use APOP.

Full details for the server side can be found in the following section
of the TCP/IP Services User's Manual:

http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/732FINAL/6525/6525pro_016.html#heading_...

In the case of Thunderbird, you don't have to do anything extra --
when you connect, it asks for your password: simply provide your
passphrase.

You would still be able to use this thread's described attack vector
to identify user accounts, but it removes the ability to sniff
passwords on the wire, as only an MD5 hash of the passphrase is sent.

Aaron


 
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