“Borland’s InterBase database software contains a “back door”
that allows anyone with the appropriate password to wreak major
havoc with the database and the computer it’s running on, security
experts said….”
“Borland acknowledged the back door and has begun releasing
patches. The company has notified customers and sales partners and
will begin shipping repaired versions this week, said Jon Arthur,
director of the InterBase project for Borland. The problem exists
in versions 4, 5 and 6 of InterBase….”
“The problem illustrates the double-edged sword of open-source
software regarding security. On the good side is the fact that so
many more programmers can scrutinize the software and find such
problems–exactly what happened with InterBase. Many open-source
advocates list this openness as a major advantage over closed,
proprietary software such as the kind Microsoft distributes. Who
knows what nefarious code lies within the millions of lines of
Windows programming code, they ask.”
“On the other hand, it can be easier for a malicious programmer
to find vulnerabilities. This particular back door has existed
since 1994, and nothing was preventing a malicious programmer from
finding it in the last six months.”