> ... Since the authentication protocol generates a different hash each time this comparison is done, there is a 1 in 256 chance that ANY password would be accepted for authentication. ...
It really was a fun time. I remember sitting in a coffee shop just sniffing WiFi traffic.
A friend was a reporter for the local paper and interviewed the mayor. I turned my laptop around and showed my friend the mayors imap password. Just right there floating through the air.
I had to do the same at a friend's house once because he forgot his email password that was still saved in the browser!
And what about "borrowing" internet access by using a WiFi connection that used WEP? Learning the process and getting the first password was so satisfying...
In the early 2000s a lot of people rolled with no encryption at all! In high school I'd drive around the nearby neighborhoods at lunch until I found an open wifi network so I could browse the net. Never took long to find one.
I seem to vaguely recall some buffer overflow for Sun Solaris, which was fun to login with. I do wonder what fun AI would have had crawling through these old code bases to find the crazy exploits available back then
That matters not at all, unless you reveal how many digits it is. Why isn’t anyone in this thread willing to reveal theirs? Just brag about it?
Mine also began with a 2. It was 279866. My girlfriend’s was slightly lower, as she introduced me to the new service. We both felt like pioneers in those halcyon days.
Mine was quickly usurped by a Russian hacker. The profile was replaced by Cyrillic writing. I never knew how they did it. None of my other accounts or socials have ever been usurped like that!
I remember a lot of low number ICQ accounts being taken over back in the day, including my own and several security-minded friends. Because of how prevalent it was and how it was the only account we'd had compromised we assumed they found a flaw or had access to reset passwords, or could social engineer support etc.
It's good to finally know there was a critical flaw like the one in OP that was likely used.
Mine was in the 3.5 million range. My roommate at the time had a 6 digit number and didn't sign up that much before me, I remember it felt wild that they had grown so quickly. And then not long after that it was all 8 digit numbers.
And also yes, the last time I looked, my account was all cyrillic.
AOL Instant Messenger had several remote code execution exploits. They worked just by sending an IM to someone. You could also crash their computer remotely, or maybe it would just create their client.
Also their stored password encryption algorithm was easily reversible.
My UIN was merely 7-digit and when it got hacked the guy just logged in, chatted with my friends about random things, and left. I only found out because they were puzzled by "me" talking weird.
ICQ sent messages directly between peers when both were online and unfirewalled and there were no verification that you were who you claimed. I had a lot of (friendly) fun spoofing other ICQ numbers. Or sending someone a message from themselves.
There are some point of sales systems that use the same sound effect, and every time it's like I'm teleported back to the 90s, sitting in my room with a pepsi, browsing the web and chattin' with friends.
https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2012/06/11/cve-2012-2122-a-...
> ... Since the authentication protocol generates a different hash each time this comparison is done, there is a 1 in 256 chance that ANY password would be accepted for authentication. ...