Mac OS X hacker gains control in 30 min
updated 09:50 am EST, Mon March 6, 2006
Mac OS X compromised
One hacker was able to gain control of a Mac OS X machine within 30 minutes, according to a new report. ZDNet Australia reports that Mac OS X was hacked within 30 minutes using an unpublished security vulnerability. The "gwerdna" hacker, who was able to quickly gain root access to the Mac, was responding to a "rm-my-mac" challenge issued in late February by a Sweden-based Mac enthusiast. While the hacker said that the Mac could have been better protected, he said that it would not have made a difference, as he exploited a vulnerability that has not yet been made public or patched by Apple, according to the report. "Gwerdna" said that Apple's OS--often touted as more secure than its Windows counterpart--is "easy pickings" when it comes to vulnerabilities and that relatively low marketshare leaves most hackers uninterested in the platform. Although Apple has quickly responded to new virus and security threats published in the past month, other researchers still believe that old flaws in Mac OS X leave the OS vulnerable to attacks.
What Mac did he gain cont
03/06, 10:07am reply
What Mac did he gain control of? His own? Big deal! Let's see him break into any Mac out in the real world and not in his own house and see how far he gets. The first problem he has is to find you. The second problem is he has to get through your router firewall. The third problem is he has to get through the Macs firewall. The fourth problem is he has to gain access to your password. I seriously doubt he gained control of anything but his own. This story is missing so much detail that it really sounds phoney. And ZDNET has been pushing all of these stories that have no facts behind them and were really not the big security problems as hardly even one person got attacked.
jhorvatic
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Joined: Apr 2005
You're Not Saying ...
03/06, 10:22am reply
... that Zero Data Net is engaging in it usual MS-sponsored brand of FUD again, are you?
Foe Hammer
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2005
Article VERY misleading
03/06, 10:27am reply
The article fails to mention that anyone on the globe who wished it was given *local access* to the machine via ssh! Yes, there are local privilege escalation vulnerabilities; likely some that are "unpublished". But this machine was not hacked from the outside just by being on the Internet. It was hacked from within, by someone who was allowed to have a local account on the box. That is a huge distinction.
das
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Joined: Jan 2001
cool hack
03/06, 10:30am reply
I believe the hack is true: this "hacker" probably forgot the password to their system, so they used an install disc to reset it. Good work, I hope Apple does patch this one either.
Icarust
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Joined: Mar 2006
bogus
03/06, 10:41am reply
Any hacker sophisticated enough to hack MacOSX would probably come up with a better handle than his name and last name initial spelled backwards. (AndrewG). I have been suspicious by the FUD published by CNET for some time - this "article" seals it for me.
davin8or
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Joined: Oct 2003
what the h***?
03/06, 10:52am reply
If you read the Znet article it make sit sound like they took over the machine... but if you read the rm-my-mac site. there is no mention of this punkass remotely controlling this machine.
Defacing someone's website, does not equal controlling the machine.
This could be fault of php, apche, mysql... or some other product. but nothing about OS x being hacked. this article is bullshit.
Feb 22, 2006 This sucks. Six hours later this poor little Mac was owned and this page got defaced. Good thing is it didn't get rm'd! Way to go PTP.
I.P. Freely
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Joined: May 2003
cracker??
03/06, 10:52am reply
Any "news" agency that calls a cracker a hacker tells me they don't know squat. This is basic terminology that very few seem to be able to get right. Probably because very few in the media these days have a clue.
beeble
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Joined: Mar 2004
Not even close
03/06, 11:08am reply
Thed "hacker" in question was given a LOCAL account on the Mac that he could access via SSH. This isn't even close to the sc@r33 h@x0r they're trying to make this out to be. To wit: check out test.doit.wisc.edu for a *real* "hack my Mini" contest.
Zaren
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Joined: Aug 2001
Is it April Fools already
03/06, 11:12am reply
People's desperate attemp for attention is really becoming pathetic. What's worse; all sites rush to publish this bullshit. So much for reputable Mac sites.
jarod
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Joined: Apr 2005
Does anyone turn on SSH?
03/06, 11:30am reply
SSH is off by default. Why would he turn it on?
aristotles
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2004