The Security Implications of Unix Naming Services

This paper will provide an overview of some of the security implications of Unix naming services with a view towards the adoption of an LDAP v3 based directory. It is by no means intended to be a how-to guide -- though it will list in its references sources which, in aggregate, would provide a wealth of guidance for planning a deployment. It will be written from a Solaris perspective but much of the content is general enough to be applicable to other Unix and Linux operating environments. It will present a brief overview of naming services in Unix and will provide a high level survey of the security characteristics of each of these services. Finally it will discuss implementation considerations and describe informative resources helpful to planning for a robust and secure naming infrastructure.