Security Administrator's Integrated Network Tool

networking, security, tool (SAINT, originally "Security

Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks", SATAN) A tool

written by Dan Farmer and Wietse Venema which remotely probes

systems via the network and stores its findings in a

database. The results can be viewed with an web browser.

SAINT requires Perl 5.000 or better.

In its simplest mode, SAINT gathers as much information about

remote hosts and networks as possible by examining such

network services as finger, NFS, NIS, FTP, TFTP,

rexd, and other services. The information gathered includes

the presence of various network information services as well

as potential security flaws - usually in the form of

incorrectly setup or configured network services, well-known

bugs in system or network utilities, or poor or ignorant

policy decisions. It can then either report on this data or

use a simple rule-based system to investigate any potential

security problems. Users can then examine, query, and analyze

the output with a web browser. While the program is

primarily geared toward analysing the security implications

of the results, a great deal of general network information

can be gained when using the tool - network topology, network

services running, and types of hardware and software being

used on the network.

SAINT can also be used in exploratory mode. Based on the

initial data collection and a user configurable ruleset, it

will examine the avenues of trust and dependency and iterate

further data collection runs over secondary hosts. This not

only allows the user to analyse his own network, but also to

examine the real implications inherent in network trust and

services and help them make reasonably educated decisions

about the security level of the systems involved.

Home .

Old SATAN page .

Mailing list .

(2000-08-12)