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author | Erwin Hoffmann <feh@fehcom.de> | 2024-01-14 17:55:54 +0100 |
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committer | Erwin Hoffmann <feh@fehcom.de> | 2024-01-14 17:55:54 +0100 |
commit | a293489ee83c8b05d845a162dc2a4de026f3775d (patch) | |
tree | d50ab15afde698ad2d32bfc251753e5e89204f25 /sqmail-4.3.07/man/forgeries.7 |
s/qmail 4.3.07
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-rw-r--r-- | sqmail-4.3.07/man/forgeries.7 | 104 |
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diff --git a/sqmail-4.3.07/man/forgeries.7 b/sqmail-4.3.07/man/forgeries.7 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..85cc947 --- /dev/null +++ b/sqmail-4.3.07/man/forgeries.7 @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +.TH s/qmail: forgeries 7 +.SH "NAME" +forgeries \- how easy it is to forge mail +.SH "SUMMARY" +An electronic mail message can easily be forged. +Almost everything in it, +including the return address, +is completely under the control of the sender. + +An electronic mail message can be manually traced to its origin +if (1) all system administrators of intermediate machines +are both cooperative and competent, +(2) the sender did not break low-level TCP/IP security, +and +(3) all intermediate machines are secure. + +Users of +.I cryptography +can automatically ensure the integrity and secrecy +of their mail messages, as long as +the sending and receiving machines are secure. +.SH "FORGERIES" +Like postal mail, +electronic mail can be created entirely at the whim of the sender. +.BR From , +.BR Sender , +.BR Return-Path , +and +.BR Message-ID +can all contain whatever information the sender wants. + +For example, if you inject a message through +.B sendmail +or +.B qmail-inject +or +.BR SMTP , +you can simply type in a +.B From +field. +In fact, +.B qmail-inject +lets you set up +.BR MAILUSER , +.BR MAILHOST , +and +.B MAILNAME +environment variables +to produce your desired +.B From +field on every message. +.SH "TRACING FORGERIES" +Like postal mail, +electronic mail is postmarked when it is sent. +Each machine that receives an electronic mail message +adds a +.B Received +line to the top. + +A modern +.B Received +line contains quite a bit of information. +In conjunction with the machine's logs, +it lets a competent system administrator +determine where the machine received the message from, +as long as the sender did not break low-level TCP/IP security +or security on that machine. + +Large multi-user machines often come with inadequate logging software. +Fortunately, a system administrator can easily obtain a copy of a +931/1413/Ident/TAP server, such as +.BR pidentd . +Unfortunately, +some system administrators fail to do this, +and are thus unable to figure out which local user +was responsible for generating a message. + +If all intermediate system administrators are competent, +and the sender did not break machine security or low-level TCP/IP security, +it is possible to trace a message backwards. +Unfortunately, some traces are stymied by intermediate system +administrators who are uncooperative or untrustworthy. +.SH "CRYPTOGRAPHY" +The sender of a mail message may place his message into a +.I cryptographic +envelope stamped with his seal. +Strong cryptography guarantees that any two messages with the same seal +were sent by the same cryptographic entity: +perhaps a single person, perhaps a group of cooperating people, +but in any case somebody who knows a secret originally held +only by the creator of the seal. +The seal is called a +.I public key\fR. + +Unfortunately, the creator of the seal is often an insecure machine, +or an untrustworthy central agency, +but most of the time seals are kept secure. + +One popular cryptographic program is +.BR pgp . +.SH "SEE ALSO" +pgp(1), +identd(8), +qmail-header(8) |