bugtraq - PalmVNC 1.40 Insecure Records

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Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 15:17:35 -0400
From: flur <flur@...rnet.org>
To: bugtraq Security List <bugtraq@...urityfocus.com>
Subject: PalmVNC 1.40 Insecure Records

Flurnet Security
----------------

Application:    PalmVNC 1.40
Developer(s):   Harkan Software (http://www.harakan.btinternet.co.uk/PalmVNC/)
                 Vladimir Minenko (http://www.wind-networks.de/PalmVNC/)
Scope:          VNC passwords saved in plaintext with backup bit.
Tested on:      PalmVNC 1.40 (older versions probably vulnerable)

PalmVNC saves passwords in plaintext, relying on the fact that PalmOS is 
hard to navigate, and thus finding the corresponding records would be 
relatively difficult. This is not the case. VNC stores saved passwords in a 
database called:

PalmVNCDB with creator ID: PVNC/Data.

To make matters worse, this database is configured with the 'backup bit' 
and thus it is copied into the users directory on any PC that the palm 
synchronizes with (filename: PalmVNCDB.PDB).

The PalmVNCDB database contains record #0 (4bytes- nothing interesting) 
followed by records for each saved server profile. These profile records 
are typically 172 bytes long and contain VNC server ip or hostname, 
username and password in plaintext.

Suggested solutions:
  - Encrypt this database and code client support.
  - If it is critical that PalmVNC is used, it is not recommended that 
passwords be saved.
  - Unset the backup bit on PalmVNCDB
    (2 attribute bytes in the PDB header after 32 byte null terminated 
name. Unset 0x0008.)

____________________ __ _
~FluRDoInG                        flur@...rnet.org
                             http://www.flurnet.org
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