Big Book of Internet File Transfer RFCs
A collection of Internet standards documents (RFCs) on FTP and related protocols.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Big Book of Internet File Transfer RFCs
RFC 2577: FTP Security Considerations
| Network Working Group | M. Allman |
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
The specification for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) contains a number of mechanisms that can be used to compromise network security. The FTP specification allows a client to instruct a server to transfer files to a third machine. This third-party mechanism, known as proxy FTP, causes a well known security problem. The FTP specification also allows an unlimited number of attempts at entering a user's password. This allows brute force "password guessing" attacks. This document provides suggestions for system administrators and those implementing FTP servers that will decrease the security problems associated with FTP.
1 Introduction
The File Transfer Protocol specification (FTP) [PR85] provides a mechanism that allows a client to establish an FTP control connection and transfer a file between two FTP servers. This "proxy FTP" mechanism can be used to decrease the amount of traffic on the network; the client instructs one server to transfer a file to another server, rather than transferring the file from the first server to the client and then from the client to the second server. This is particularly useful when the client connects to the network using a slow link (e.g., a...
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