Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Second Edition
by Olaf Kirch and Terry Dawson


This errata page lists errors outstanding in the most recent printing.

If you have technical questions or error reports, you can send them to
booktech@oreilly.com.  (Please specify the printing date of your copy.)


This page was last modified on September 2, 2003.


Here's a key to the markup:

        [page-number]: serious technical mistake
        {page-number}: minor technical mistake
        <page-number>: important language/formatting problem
        (page-number): language change or minor formatting problem
        ?page-number?: reader question or request for clarification


Confirmed errors:

(183 & 191-192)
iptables now appears not to possess the -C argument, it must have been removed


[189] In Table 9.3 and in the text the description of passive mode 
for FTP is incorrect.

The problem is with the choice of example.  FTP is one of those protocols 
that cannot be configured using very tight and specific filtering rules.

The safest way to handle FTP with IP Chains is to use the special
dynamically loadable "masquerading" module for handling FTP.


  [192] In Chapter 9 (TCP/IP Firewall), there is an ipchains example under 
A Sample Firewall Configuration.  The example contains several errors. 

A proposed changed example follows:

#!/bin/bash
##########################################################################
# IPCHAINS VERSION
# This sample configuration is for a single host firewall configuration
# with no services supported by the firewall machine itself.
##########################################################################

# USER CONFIGURABLE SECTION

# The name and location of the ipchains utility.
IPCHAINS=ipchains

# The path to the ipchains executable.
PATH="/sbin"

# Our internal network address space and its supporting network device.
OURNET="172.29.16.0/24"
OURBCAST="172.29.16.255"
OURDEV="eth0"

# The outside address and the network device that supports it.
ANYADDR="0/0"
ANYDEV="eth1"

# The TCP services we wish to allow to pass - "" empty means all ports
# note: space separated
TCPIN="smtp www"
TCPOUT="smtp www ftp ftp-data irc"

# The UDP services we wish to allow to pass - "" empty means all ports
# note: space separated
UDPIN="domain"
UDPOUT="domain"

# The ICMP services we wish to allow to pass - "" empty means all types
# ref: /usr/include/netinet/ip_icmp.h for type numbers
# note: space separated
ICMPIN="0 3 11"
ICMPOUT="8 3 11"

# Logging; uncomment the following line to enable logging of datagrams
# that are blocked by the firewall.
# LOGGING=1

# END USER CONFIGURABLE SECTION
##########################################################################
# Flush the Input table rules
$IPCHAINS -F input

# We want to DENY incoming access by default.
$IPCHAINS -P input DENY

# SPOOFING
# We should not ACCEPT any datagrams with a source address matching ours
# from the outside, so we DENY them.
$IPCHAINS -A input -s $OURNET -i $ANYDEV -j DENY

# SMURF
# Disallow ICMP to our broadcast address to prevent "Smurf" style attack.
$IPCHAINS -A input -p icmp -i $ANYDEV -d $OURBCAST -j DENY

# We should ACCEPT fragments, in ipchains we must do this explicitly.
$IPCHAINS -A input -f -j ACCEPT

for i in $TCPIN
do
# TCP
# We will ACCEPT all TCP datagrams belonging to an existing connection
# (i.e. having the ACK bit set) for the TCP ports we're allowing through.
# This should catch more than 95 % of all valid TCP packets.
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p tcp -d $OURNET $i ! -y -b -j ACCEPT

# TCP - INCOMING CONNECTIONS
# We will ACCEPT connection requests from the outside only on the
# allowed TCP ports.
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p tcp -i $ANYDEV -d $OURNET $i -y -j ACCEPT
done

# TCP - OUTGOING CONNECTIONS
# We ACCEPT all outgoing TCP connection requests on allowed TCP ports.
for i in $TCPOUT
do
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p tcp -i $OURDEV -d $ANYADDR $i -y -j ACCEPT
done

# UDP - INCOMING
# We will allow UDP datagrams in on the allowed ports.
for i in $UDPIN
do
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p udp -i $ANYDEV -d $OURNET $i -j ACCEPT
done
# UDP - OUTGOING
# We will allow UDP datagrams out on the allowed ports.
for i in $UDPOUT
do
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p udp -i $OURDEV -d $ANYADDR $i -j ACCEPT
done

# ICMP - INCOMING
# We will allow ICMP datagrams in of the allowed types.
for i in $ICMPIN
do
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p icmp -i $ANYDEV -d $OURNET $i -j ACCEPT
done

# ICMP - OUTGOING
# We will allow ICMP datagrams out of the allowed types.
for i in $ICMPOUT
do
   $IPCHAINS -A input -p icmp -i $OURDEV -d $ANYADDR $i -j ACCEPT
done

# DEFAULT and LOGGING
# All remaining datagrams fall through to the default
# rule and are dropped. They will be logged if you've
# configured the LOGGING variable above.
#
if [ "$LOGGING" ]
then
         # Log barred TCP
         $IPCHAINS -A input -p tcp -l -j REJECT

         # Log barred UDP
         $IPCHAINS -A input -p udp -l -j REJECT

         # Log barred ICMP
         $IPCHAINS -A input -p icmp -l -j REJECT
fi
#
# end.



(204) 1st paragraph, third sentence
Since all of these services are TCB-based
should be:
Since all of these services are TCP-based