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Re: Trouble with Sender Authentication





On Nov 9, 2006, at 3:15 PM, william(at)elan.net wrote:

Doug, I don't have time for long discussion. But I'm telling you that SPF has nothing to do with it and I can use either of "MX", "SRV" or "NS" to generate similar amplification scenarios as you've done with SPF using the same method.

Multiples of 100s of crafted DNS transactions directed toward a victim by each message can not be compared against transactions needed to obtain an MX, SRV, or NS resource record. The MX, SRV, or NS resource records provide access to a service prompted by the client and not an attacker. SPF scripts allow an attacker to orchestrate hundreds of transactions at millions of recipients. The gain of this exploit is large and essentially free for an attacker also wanting to spam. For what other exploit would is be true?

In fact CSV (as far as I remember it) would cause highier amount of amplification then SPF when bad guy controls domain put in EHLO and decides to play special dns games with that name.

CSV specified that a single target be used. When associated with DKIM per DOSP, an address literal or a single A record offers sufficient validation. Validating the EHLO simply does not offer any gain; nor is this gain is not multiplied by subsequent stages or multiple recipients. SPF script transaction amplification is not 10:1 but more than 100:1. The gain executing SPF script is multiplied by recipients and stages of delivery, such as MTAs and MUAs.

And in exactly the same way as you did it would generate 10:1 DNS traffic amplification (SPF scenarios are basicly 10:1 amplification after throwing away all the extras).

Some SPF scenarios are much larger than 10:1. SPF scripts can cause havoc by additional 10 or 11 TXT wildcard resource record transactions, but I'll leave that to your imagination. Any SPF script exploit bypasses protections offered by DNS ACLs and BCP38. : (

-Doug