Sshnuke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
sshnuke is a computer program used to exploit a security vulnerability SSH version 1 until the relevant vulnerability was fixed in 1999.
[edit] As featured in The Matrix Reloaded
In a scene about two-thirds of the way through the film The Matrix Reloaded, the character Trinity hacks into a power station's computer network. To do so, she first runs the network utility nmap against a computer on the network. Nmap reports that port 22, the standard port for SSH remote logins, is open. Trinity then runs the program sshnuke which, according to her terminal, attempts to exploit the CRC-32 bug in the SSH version 1 server software. CRC-32 is a real bug in SSH version 1 that allows hackers to gain access to a computer using a buffer overflow attack.
Trinity's attack using sshnuke is successful, and she gains root access to the system, which immediately prompts her to change the root password. (This is not default behavior in reality.) Trinity enters the password "Z1ON0101". (Note the substitution of the number "1" for the letter "I", a transliteration common in leetspeak and efforts to strengthen passwords against a dictionary attack.)
[edit] References
Matrix Sequel Has Hacker Cred. Article by famed hacker-turned-journalist Kevin Poulsen who explains the hack in some detail, and talks to the creator of Nmap.
