S4E3: "Insane in the Mainframe"

Posted 2019-04-01 03:59
Modified 2019-04-02 14:15
Comments 4

We have Phil (@mainframed767) on to talk about mainframes. Yes, they’re still being used and yes, they’re modern implementations.

• Just the Tip
• Notes
• 15 Clams
• Errata
• Music

Just the Tip

• An introduction to LXC (Linux Containers)
  • He mentions haveged (pronounced “have G-E-D” or, if I’m in a rush, I say “have ged”)
    • The SuperUser question I answered (I said StackOverflow, oops; same network) is here. Why it was downvoted, I’ll never know.
  • He also mentions an optional dependency is dnsmasq, which we’ve mentioned more than once on the show before.
  • LXC is basically a cross between a virtualization (VM) and a chroot.
    • Know what OpenVZ/Virtuozzo is? Yeah, basically that.
  • LXC used to be the driving technology behind Docker (but as of Docker 0.9, Docker replaced LXC with libcontainer).
  • The kernel capabilities I mention can be found here.
    • You can find documentation on how to grant these capabilities in a Systemd unit here.

Notes

Starts at 8m56s.

I was drinking a Guinness Extra Stout. Paden was drinking Absolut and Glenmorangie again. Jthan was drinking a lime Spindrift. Phil was drinking Highland Park 18-Year.

• Mainframes in the modern era!
  • Mainframes are not only still used, they are modern and integral to modern global/enterprise business.
  • Phil mentions Connor buying a used mainframe. You can find his talk here.
  • You can find access to the DISA STIGs here.
    • And mainframe-specific STIGs are here.
  • DES is a really bad idea, but many mainframe logins still use it…
    • The Baddie that was mentioned is S1E18. The solution was given in S1E21.
  • Patching in mainframes is typically pretty obfuscated/obtuse.

• You can find more about Phil (Soldier of Fortran) and mainframes here:
  • His talks
  • The talk I’ve seen and referenced (Mainframe hacking)
  • The IMP (Internet Mainframes Project) is here.
  • His PoC||GTFO contributions (we have a mirror here):
    • #12, A JCL Adventure with Network Job Entries
    • #17, Murder on the USS Table
  • His blog is here.
  • Another mainframe hacker mentioned a lot, Chad, has a mainframe-hacking blog here.
  • He and Chad also offer mainframe pentesting classes, which you can find here.
    • Mainframe pentesting is still pretty niche; they need all the passionate pentesters they can get!
  • He mentioned the Logica breach…
    • and the IBM Websphere CVE and corresponding exploit.
  • The z/OS emulator he mentions is here…
    • and an opensource full-stack (running an older mainframe OS), called Hercules, is here.
  • He also recommends this z/OS on Hercules guide.

15 Clams

In this segment, Jthan shares with you a little slice of life. The title is a reference to this video. (2m16s in)

Starts at 1h12m35s.

Jthan ponders whether it’s “better”, in terms of what you learn/experience, to work for a big enterprise or small business.

Interestingly, shortly after we talked about it, I found a nice summation/thread on Twitter of why the question may not have a direct answer.

Errata

• Contrary to what Paden said about LXC, you do NOT need to run/start libvirtd to use LXC – this is only necessary if you’re using LXC as a backend for libvirtd.
• To give some context, this episode was recorded roughly a week after Facebook had a severe outage.
• Sure enough, on March 28 and March 31, new PoC||GTFO issues are in digital format and have made it to our mirror. :)
• The CIA sabotage manual is indeed still available.

Music

Author r00t^2
Categories Season Four