Re: cvs with xinetd

[Larry Jones]

address@hidden writes:
> 
> The very fact that it uses the crypt(3) library function is why I believe it
> would "break".  Suppose I use jCVS to connect to my CVS server, on which MD5
> passwords are used.  Further suppose that I don't want to use the layered
> password protection that CVS provides because I'm on an internal network
> protected elsewhere.  jCVS will create the password in-line with the fact
> that crypt(3) is used to generate it.  However, the CVS pserver, not having
> a passwd file, will look in the system files and find a password that was
> generated with MD5.  The passwords can't match, except by chance (and a long
> shot at that).  

That's not how it works; only the server uses crypt(), not the client. 
The client simply "scrambles" the password (using a very weak, well
documented, invertible mapping which is intended simply to protect the
password from casual observation; like a lock on a screen door, it
serves no purpose as far as security is concerned) and sends it to the
server.  The server then unscrambles the password to recover the
original plain-text password and calls crypt() to compare it with the
reference encrypted password from the CVS passwd file or the system
passwd file.

-Larry Jones

I wonder what's on TV now. -- Calvin