ipmi access

Tue Jun 3 01:05:54 UTC 2014

On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 7:42 PM, Jimmy Hess <mysidia at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 8:21 AM, shawn wilson <ag4ve.us at gmail.com> wrote:  [snip]
>> So, kinda the same idea - just put IPMI on another network and use ssh
>> forwards to it. You can have multiple boxes connected in this fashion
>> but the point is to keep it simple and as secure as possible (and IPMI
>> security doesn't really count here :) ).
>
> About that "as secure as possible" bit.    If just one server gets
> compromised that happens to have its IPMI port plugged into this
> private network;  the attacker may  be able to pivot  into the IPMI
> network  and start unloading IPMI exploits.
>

Generally, I worry about workstations with access being compromised
more than I do about a server running sshd and routing traffic. But
obviously, if someone gets access, they can cause play foosball with
your stuff.

> So caution is definitely advised,  about security boundaries: in case
> a shared IPMI network is used,  and this  is a case where a Private
> VLAN   (PVLAN-Isolated)   could be considered,   to ensure devices on
> the IPMI  LAN cannot communicate with one another ---  and only
> devices on a separate dedicated IPMI Management station subnet  can
> interact with the IPMI LAN.
>

I can't really argue against the proper use of vlans (and that surely
wasn't my point). I was merely saying that you can use ssh as a
simpler solution (and possibly a more secure one since there's not a
conduit to broadcast to/from) than a vpn. That's it.