Re: Fw: BgRegister X server insecure - newbie

Hi Harvey,

I am not sure. I did a man page on xauth and this is what it gave. I do not
see generate in there. Is this what you meant? ......paul



                     AIX 5.2 Commands Reference, Volume 6, v - z

xauth Command

Purpose

Edits and displays the authorization information used in connecting to the
X
server.

Syntax

xauth [ -f AuthFile ] [ -v | -q ] [ -i ] [ -b ] [ CommandArgument ... ]

Description

The xauth command is usually used to edit and display the authorization
information used in connecting to the X server. This program extracts
authorization records from one machine and merge them into another (for
example,
when using remote logins or granting access to other users).

The following commands can be entered interactively, on the xauth command
line,
or in scripts. Note that this program does not contact the X server.

add DisplayName ProtocolName Hexkey An authorization entry is added to the
authorization file for the indicated display using the given protocol and
key
data. The data is specified as an even-length string of hexadecimal digits,
each
pair representing one octet. The first digit of each pair gives the most
significant 4 bits of the octet, and the second digit of the pair gives the
least significant 4 bits. For example, a 32-character hexkey would
represent a
128-bit value. A protocol name consisting of just a single period is
treated as
an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.

extract FileName DisplayName... Authorization entries for each of the
specified
displays are written to the indicated file. The extracted entries can be
read
back in using the merge and nmerge commands. If the file name consists of
just a
single dash, the entries are written to the binary output.

generate DisplayName ProtocolName

[trusted | untrusted] [timeout seconds]

[group group-id] [data hexdata]

This command is similar to add. The main difference is that instead of
requiring
the user to supply the key data, it connects to the server specified in
displayname and uses the SECURITY extension in order to get the key data to
store in the authorization file. If the server cannot be contacted or if it
does
not support the SECURITY extension, the command fails. Otherwise, an
authorization entry for the indicated display using the given protocol is
added
to the authorization file. A protocol name consisting of just a single
period is
treated as an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.

If the trusted option is used, clients that connect using this
authorization
will have full run of the display, as usual. If untrusted is used, clients
that
connect using this authorization will be considered untrusted and prevented
from
stealing or tampering with data belonging to trusted clients. See the
SECURITY
extension specification for full details on the restrictions imposed on
untrusted clients. The default is untrusted.

The timeout option specifies how long in seconds this authorization will be
valid. If the authorization remains unused (no clients are connected with
it)
for longer than this time period, the server purges the authorization, and
future attempts to connect using it will fail. Note that the purging done
by the
server does not delete the authorization entry from the authorization file.
The
default timeout is 60 seconds.

The group option specifies the application group that clients connecting
with
this authorization should belong to. See the application group extension
specification for more details. The default is to not belong to an
application
group.

The data option specifies data that the server should use to generate the
authorization. Note that this is not the same data that gets written to the
authorization file. The interpretation of this data depends on the
authorization
protocol. The hexdata is in the same format as the hexkey described in the
add
command. The default is to send no data.

list [DisplayName...] Authorization entries for each of the specified
displays
(or all displays if none are named) are printed on the standard output in a
textual format. Key data is always displayed in the hexadecimal format
given in
the description of the add command.

merge [FileName...] Authorization entries are read from the specified files
and
are merged into the authorization database, superseding any matching
existing
entries. If a file name consists of just a single dash, the binary input is
read
if it has not been read before.

[n]extract Filename DisplayName... Authorization entries for each of the
specified displays are written to the indicated file. The entries are
written in
a numeric format suitable for non-binary transmission (such as secure
electronic
mail). The extracted entries can be read back in using the merge and nmerge
commands. If the file name consists of just a single dash, the entries are
written to the standard output.

[n]list [DisplayName...] Authorization entries for each of the specified
displays (or all displays if none are named) are printed on the standard
output
in the numeric format used by the nextract command. Key data is always
displayed
in the hexadecimal format given in the description of the add command.

[n]merge [FileName...] Authorization entries are read from the specified
files
and are merged into the authorization database, superseding any matching
existing entries. The numeric format given in the description of the
extract
command is used. If a file name consists of just a single dash, the
standard
input is read if it has not been read before.

remove DisplayName... Authorization entries matching the specified displays
are
removed from the authority file.

source FileName The specified file is treated as a script containing xauth
commands to execute. Blank lines and lines beginning with a # (pound sign)
are
ignored. A single dash can be used to indicate the standard input, if it
has not
already been read.

info Information describing the authorization file, whether or not any
changes
have been made, and from where xauth commands are being read is printed on
the
standard output.

exit If any modifications have been made, the authority file is written out
(if
allowed), and the program exits. An end of file is treated as an implicit
exit
command.

quit The program exits, ignoring any modifications. This may also be
accomplished by pressing the interrupt character.

help [String] A description of all commands that begin with the given
string (or
all commands if no string is given) is printed on the standard output.

? A short list of the valid commands is printed on the standard output.

Display names for the add, [n]extract, [n]list, [n]merge, and remove
commands
use the same format as the DISPLAY environment variable and the common
display
command-line argument. Display-specific information (such as the screen
number)
is unnecessary and is ignored. Same-machine connections (such as local-host
sockets, shared memory, and the Internet Protocol HostName LocalHost) are
referred to as HostName/unix:DisplayNumber so that local entries for
different
machines can be stored in one authority file.

    Note: Users that have unsecure networks should take care to use
encrypted
    file transfer mechanisms to copy authorization entries between
machines.
    Similarly, the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 protocol is not very useful in
unsecure
    environments. Sites that are interested in additional security may need
to
    use encrypted authorization mechanisms such as Kerberos. Spaces are
    currently not allowed in the protocol name. Quoting could be added.

Flags

The following options are used with the xauth command. They can be given
individually (for example, -q -i) or combined (for example, -qi).

-f AuthFile Specifies the name of the authority file to use. By default,
xauth
uses the file specified by the XAUTHORITY environment variable or
.xauthority in
the user's home directory.

-v Indicates that xauth should operate verbosely and print status messages
indicating the results of various operations (for example, how many records
have
been read in or written out). This is the default if xauth is reading
commands
from its standard input and its standard output is directed to a terminal.

-q Indicates that xauth should operate quietly and not print unsolicited
status
messages. This is the default if an xauth command is given on the command
line
or if the standard output is not directed to a terminal.

-i Indicates that xauth should ignore any authority file locks. Normally,
xauth
refuses to read or edit any authority files that have been locked by other
programs (usually xdm or another xauth).

-b Indicates that xauth should attempt to break any authority file locks
before
proceeding. Use this option only to clean up stale locks.

Example

The most common use for the xauth command is to extract the entry for the
current display, copy it to another machine, and merge it into the user's
authority file on the remote machine:

% xauth extract \- $DISPLAY | rsh otherhost xauth merge \-

Files

$HOME/.Xauthority Contains the default authority file if the XAUTHORITY
environment variable is not defined.









Paul,

Does the AIX xauth support the generate command?

Harv



----- Message from Paul on Mon, 13 Feb 2006 16:02:12 -0500 -----
                                                                           
           To: [email protected]                                       
                                                                           
      Subject: Fw: BgRegister X server insecure - newbie                   
                                                                           



I am trying to use this code example from the FAQ to insure that my X
server is enabled to use the X authority file is and distributing the
display's key to the client hosts. But the example is for SUN, I am on aix:

 if [ ! \( -d $HOME -a -w $HOME \) ]; then
   echo "Warning: Can't write X authority file" 1>&2 ;
   auth_args=""
 else
   authfname=$HOME/.xnews.`uname -n`$DISPLAY
   ${OPENWINHOME}/lib/mkcookie $authfname -auth magic-cookie
   auth_args="-auth $authfname"
 fi ;
 ${OPENWINHOME}/bin/xnews $auth_args $server_args $xnews_config_args ;;


on aix, there is no mkcookie command. Anyone know how to do that line on
aix?

.....paul


-------------

Paul,

Have you read all of FAQ 4 (not just 4b) from a current FAQ
(eg., http://beedub.com/exmh/exmh-faq.html)?

I don't use AIX but I have managed to use do use exmh with the background
process enabled on Linux and Solaris and against Cygwin/X on Windows XP.

It generally is a simple manner of insuring that your X server is enabled
to use
the X authority file and distributing the display's key to the client
hosts.

Harv

---------------

Hi,

I am sure this has been covered before, but I cannot find a fix.

I keep seeing these msgs:
 BgRegister X server insecure (must use xauth-style authorization);
 command ignored

 exmh-bg cannot rendez-vous with UI - exiting.
 Usually this is because Tk send is not working.

I looked at FAQ 4b, but I am still not sure what to do. Can anyone help?

exmh version 2.6.3
os: aix 5.2

thanks.....