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AaronD
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 Use of TFTP
Firewalls, Forensics, Incident response, Intrusion management, Managed security services, Network security, VPN, Wireless
Why is the use of TFTP discouraged on the network from a security perspective?

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ASKED: March 31, 2005  7:13 AM
UPDATED: April 4, 2005  2:38 AM
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It's discouraged because other than limited permissions control on the server (directories mostly) there's no user control, no authentication, no encryption. Its typical use is in uploading/downloading network device configurations, firmware updates, etc. and that's about it. Case in point - we used to download all switch and router configurations weekly to a backup TFTP server, so that we had an audit trail of our configurations. Since I didn't set it up, I don't remember the particulars, but a determined internal attacker could theoretically find the TFTP server, download our router configurations, and crack the passwords. (Not firewalls - those were kept more secure) Hope that helps, Bob
Last Wiki Answer Submitted:  March 31, 2005  11:20 am  by  Bobkberg   1,070 pts.
All Answer Wiki Contributors:  Bobkberg   1,070 pts.
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Firstly, TFTP has no directory or password capability. All trafic is transmitted in clear text(Sniffing!!!). TFTP can be used in Contingency/Recovery plans when u are looking at Routers and Switches, were the configuration and logs/errors will be stored on TFTP. TFTP is using port 69, so make sure u are blocking this on your firewall. If u want to use TFTP, my recommendation is to use SSH for connection establishment.

For more reading go to http://www.rfc-editor.org and search for TFTP or RFC1350.

Hope this helps.

Franna81
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