Editing 424: Security Holes

{{comic
| number    = 424
| date      = May 16, 2008
| title     = Security Holes
| image     = security_holes.png
| titletext = True story: I had to try several times to upload this comic because my ssh key was blacklisted.
}}

==Explanation==
The "Debian-OpenSSL fiasco" was a major security problem discovered in the {{w|Debian}} {{w|Linux distribution}} and its version of the {{w|Cryptography|cryptographic}} library called {{w|OpenSSL}}. With just a tiny change in the software, which was intended to have no effect on security, its {{w|Random number generation|random number generator}} was completely crippled, as was the security of all cryptographic keys generated by the system. The problem was created when a Debian developer removed one line of code that was crucial, even though it could seem like it did nothing useful. More detail about the fiasco: [http://trailofbits.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/hope-08-openssl.pdf ''Crippling Crypto: The Debian OpenSSL Debacle''], [http://wiki.debian.org/SSLkeys Debian's information page about the problem].

The title text refers also to this issue: After the security problem was found, all cryptographic keys generated or used on the broken operating system needed to be replaced. Many systems introduced special checks for such weak keys, adding the keys to {{w|Blacklisting|blacklists}}, thereby preventing their use and forcing users to create new keys. [[Randall]] claims that he was affected by that when uploading this comic to the server.

The panels on the left present Cueball as a programmer who, on a whim, removes pieces of code, ([[156: Commented|commenting out]] the code by prepending the line with two slashes), presumably thinking that they are not necessary. The first removed line, <code>MD_update(&m, buf, j);</code>, is the exact piece of code that [https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/05/random_number_b.html was removed] in the Debian fiasco. The next panels show him commenting out fictitious lines of code apparently preventing bad things from happening.

The other part of the comic lists "security problems" that were allegedly discovered in other Linux variants afterwards:

Cryptographic software in {{w|Fedora Core}} was allegedly not secure against {{w|Secret decoder ring|toy decoder rings}}. This is probably a reference to the association of the {{w|Fedora|fedora}} with 1930s and 40s culture (especially {{w|Gangster|gangsters}} and {{w|Film noir|film noir}}), and the contemporaneous introduction and popularity of toy decoder rings.

{{w|Xandros}} (used in {{w|Asus Eee PC}} netbooks) gave superuser privileges to anybody "if asked in a stern voice." This is likely a reference to the fact that the preinstalled Xandros OS did not require a password for root privileges by default.

{{w|Gentoo}} would succumb to flattery, which may be a reference to Gentoo's notorious difficulty to manage. Any user who is capable of understanding it might have a large ego, and therefore be susceptible to flattery.

{{w|One Laptop per Child|OLPC}} OS could have been attacked using {{w|Jeff Goldblum}}'s laptop computer, which refers to a scene in the {{w|Independence Day (film)|''Independence Day'' movie}}, where Jeff Goldblum's character was able to hack into an alien spaceship using his Apple {{w|PowerBook}} computer - which is a topic of [http://www.cracked.com/article_18720_7-famous-movie-flaws-that-were-explained-in-deleted-scenes.html great contempt] by geeks who point to the absurdity of such a construction.

{{w|Slackware}} gave superuser privileges to anybody who "says Elvish word for 'friend'," which refers to a scene in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'', where the entrance door to {{w|Moria}} could have been opened using a password ''mellon'', the Elvish word for "friend," as indicated on the door itself. Another reference to this is in [[1218: Doors of Durin]].

And {{w|Ubuntu}}, which is another Linux distribution, was allegedly found to be actually {{w|Windows Vista}}, the latest version of {{w|Microsoft Windows}} at this time in 2008.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sitting at computer.]
:Cueball: I'll just comment out these lines...

:<code>// MD_update(&m, buf, j);</code>

:<code>// do_not_crash();</code>

:<code>// prevent_911();</code>

:In the rush to clean up the debian-openssl fiasco, a number of other major security holes have been uncovered:

:[A two-column table is shown:]

:;Affected System
::<b>Security problem</b>

----

:;Fedora Core
::Vulnerable to certain decoder rings

:;Xandros (EEE PC)
::Gives root access if asked in a stern voice

:;Gentoo
::Vulnerable to flattery

:;OLPC OS
:: Vulnerable to Jeff Goldblum’s PowerBook

:;Slackware
::Gives root access if user says Elvish word for “friend”

:;Ubuntu
::Turns out distro is actually just Windows Vista with a few custom themes

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]