[TriLUG] Stump the Chumps! ssh tunneling

[Tarus Balog]

Gang:

Okay, time for Stump the Chumps.

Disclaimer: the following scenario discusses trying to get around a 
network access roadblock. This was done on a network I had full 
permission to use (I was in a bank right next to the AS/400 with all 
the money) so it in no way is requesting help for an illegal activity.

I was at a customer site installing Linux on what used to be Novell 
server. The network manager was on vacation, so I was pretty much left 
with a page of instructions and someone who could point out the machine 
in a lineup.

I installed the O/S and then went to use apt-for-rpm from 
freshrpms.net. Unfortunately, HTTP on port 80 was set up to be 
redirected to a Novell Border Manager box, who's client promptly wet 
the bed with Mozilla.

Now, ftp, ssh and other protocols were open, so I was able to get out 
on the internet. For example, if I wanted to see the main CNN page I 
could run:

ssh -L 80:cnn.com:80 sortova.com

and then point the browser to "localhost" and it worked.

However, apt for rpm accessed the freshrpms.net site which used a 
redirect (not the right term - more like an alias - but you get the 
meaning). Since this redirect was seen by the browser as a move from 
"localhost" to another site, it would attempt to access port 80 on that 
site and promptly be caught by the Border Manager.

Quiz time: using the tools at hand, is there a way to tunnel *all* http 
traffic through the ssh tunnel?

-T



----------
Tarus Balog
Consultant
Sortova Consulting Group, Inc. (www.sortova.com)
tarus at sortova.com - 919-696-7625