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If through a vulnerability assessment, a network security issue is detected for the vulnerability below, applying the appropriate security patches in a timely matter is very important. If you have detected that your system has already been compromised, following CERT's Network Security recovery document will assist with recommended steps for system recovery.

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Vulnerability Assessment Details

Telnet

Vulnerability Assessment Summary
Searches for the existence of Telnet

Detailed Explanation for this Vulnerability Assessment
The Telnet service is running.
This service is dangerous in the sense that it is not ciphered - that is,
everyone can sniff the data that passes between the telnet client
and the telnet server. This includes logins and passwords.

Solution:
If you are running a Unix-type system, OpenSSH can be used instead of telnet.
For Unix systems, you can comment out the 'telnet' line in /etc/inetd.conf.
For Unix systems which use xinetd, you will need to modify the telnet services
file in the /etc/xinetd.d folder. After making any changes to xinetd or
inetd configuration files, you must restart the service in order for the
changes to take affect.

In addition, many different router and switch manufacturers support SSH as a
telnet replacement. You should contact your vendor for a solution which uses
an encrypted session.

Network Security Threat Level: Low

Networks Security ID:

Vulnerability Assessment Copyright: This script is Copyright (C) 1999 Renaud Deraison

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