source: trunk/minix/man/man3/servxcheck.3@ 22

Last change on this file since 22 was 9, checked in by Mattia Monga, 14 years ago

Minix 3.1.2a

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1.TH SERVXCHECK 3
2.SH NAME
3servxcheck \- Internet service access check
4.SH SYNOPSIS
5.ft B
6.nf
7#define _MINIX_SOURCE 1
8#include </net/gen/netdb.h>
9
10int servxcheck(ipaddr_t \fIpeer\fP, const char *\fIservice\fP,
11 void (*\fIlogf\fP)(int \fIpass\fP, const char *\fIname\fP));
12char *servxfile(const char *\fIfile\fP);
13.fi
14.ft R
15.SH DESCRIPTION
16.B Servxcheck()
17is used by programs like
18.B inetd
19to perform an access check on the host connected to the other end of the TCP
20channel that has IP address
21.IR peer .
22.PP
23.B Servxcheck()
24translates the IP address to the
25associated host name if necessary, and checks if the host is granted access
26as guided by the file
27.BR /etc/serv.access .
28(See
29.BR serv.access (5).)
30The service name used to search the access file is passed by the caller as
31.IR service .
32These names should be the same as the service names in
33.BR /etc/services .
34.PP
35The caller should use the NWIOGTCPCONF ioctl() call to find out what the
36IP address of the remote end is. It is wise to bypass the
37.B servxcheck()
38call if the remote end happens to be the local machine (remaddr == locaddr),
39so that local connections aren't impeded by slow checks.
40.B Servxcheck()
41will itself allow connections from 127.0.0.1/8 immediately, so you
42don't have to check for that. Example of use:
43.PP
44.RS
45.nf
46.ta +4n +4n +4n
47if (ioctl(fd, NWIOGTCPCONF, &tcpconf) < 0
48 || tcpconf.nwtc_remaddr == tcpconf.nwtc_locaddr
49 || servxcheck(tcpconf.nwtc_remaddr, service_name, NULL)
50) {
51 serve();
52}
53.fi
54.RE
55.PP
56An attempt to connect to a service is logged if the access is denied. You
57can use the special checkword "\fBlog\fP" to also log if access is granted.
58Logging will be done with
59.B syslog()
60at the
61.B warning
62level.
63A syntax error in the access file may be logged under the
64.B err
65level.
66The caller must use
67.B openlog()
68to set the appropriate logging facility. One may do one's own logging by
69supplying a
70.I logf
71function that will be called by
72.B servxcheck
73with a first argument that is true if access is granted, false if
74denied, and a second argument that is the name of the remote host whose
75access has been checked.
76.PP
77The default is to fail the check unless the access file says otherwise.
78Strange errors make the check succeed. (We do not want
79remote access to fail because of some system error.) Note that this
80function is not meant to check access to the system, that's what
81passwords and such are for, but only to limit access to those who are
82allowed to use the services the system offers.
83.PP
84Connections from a machine to itself are accepted immediately. No further
85checks, no logging.
86.PP
87.B Servxfile()
88may be used to specify a file other than the default
89.BR /etc/serv.access .
90This is useful for programs started from
91.B inetd
92that want to handle the access check themselves, using a private access file.
93The return value of
94.B servxfile()
95is the pathname of the old access file. Only a pointer to the new path is
96saved, the caller must keep the string it points to intact.
97.SH FILES
98.TP 25n
99.B /etc/serv.access
100Default access check file.
101.SH "SEE ALSO"
102.BR syslog (3),
103.BR serv.access (5),
104.BR services (5),
105.BR inetd (8).
106.SH DIAGNOSTICS
107.B Servxcheck()
108returns 0 if the access is denied, 1 if granted.
109.PP
110Typical syslog message:
111.PP
112.RS
113Jan 10 20:27:20 flotsam inetd[174]: service 'shell' granted to jetsam.cs.vu.nl
114.RE
115.SH BUGS
116IP and DNS based access checks will stop most crackers, but not the really
117determined ones. Luckily MINIX 3 is sufficiently strange to thwart the well
118known cracking schemes. But don't ever allow yourself to feel secure.
119.SH AUTHOR
120Kees J. Bot <kjb@cs.vu.nl>
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