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Date:      Mon, 07 May 2001 11:24:24 -0700
From:      "Crist Clark" <crist.clark@globalstar.com>
To:        Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>
Cc:        Sheldon Hearn <sheldonh@uunet.co.za>, anderson@centtech.com, Andrew Barros <abarros@tjhsst.edu>, "lists@mail.ru" <lists@mail.ru>, freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: reverse or not
Message-ID:  <3AF6E858.77E9B72A@globalstar.com>
References:  <E14wpKH-0002sJ-00@bsdconspiracy.net>

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Wes Peters wrote:
> 
> Sheldon Hearn scribed:
> >
> > On Mon, 07 May 2001 09:54:36 MST, "Crist Clark" wrote:
> >
> > > > From a security perspective, I'm pretty sure that hosts should NEVER
> > > > rely on any external source for resolution on the loopback network.
> > >
> > > So everyone MUST run a DNS server on localhost? That does not sound too
> > > secure either.
> >
> > That's not what I'm suggesting.  People were talking about /etc/hosts vs
> > DNS.  I'm saying that
> >
> >       1) DNS servers shouldn't answer questions about the loopback
> >          network.
> >
> >       2) Hosts should have hostnames for the loopback network
> >          hardwired into /etc/hosts.
> 
>         3) /etc/host.conf should always have hosts listed before
>            bind, to be sure that you get your local definitions
>            *first*.

I was thinking of applications like sendmail(8) that don't bother with
the local resolver and really like to go straight to DNS. /etc/hosts and
/etc/host.conf are moot. I have had "localhost" problems with sendmail in 
the past that were a PITA to workaround. I know there are other common
apps that go straight to DNS... 'course none of them are coming to mind
at the moment.
-- 
Crist J. Clark                                Network Security Engineer
crist.clark@globalstar.com                    Globalstar, L.P.
(408) 933-4387                                FAX: (408) 933-4926

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