[KLUG Members] Fork Bomb in linux

[Mathew Enders]

It appearers that most out of the box Linux systems are vulnerable to
this attack.  Here is the post from SUSE's security list.

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From: Jim Flanagan <linuxjim at jjfiii.com>
To: suse-security at suse.com
Subject: [suse-security] Linux and forkbomb - with link
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:47:51 -0600 (CST)
Sorry, my earlier post did not include the link to the story at
securityfocus.com

Are any of the currently supported Suse versions susceptible to this
forkbomb attack? I'm not very sure what it is, but I'm sure many of you
are. I'm running suse 8.2 pro and 9.1 pro.

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/308?ref=rssdebia
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SUSE's reply was to install ulimit.  However the defaults are the same
as if it were not installed with no suggestion of appropriate limits.
Would anyone have any suggestions as to appropriate limits for the
following system types.
Workstation
Web Server
File Server
Print Server

-- 
Mathew Enders <mathew.enders at prodigy.net>