If you've worked with old Unix systems before, you've probably
encountered NIS (Network Information Service). The most familiar way of
describing it is a sort of hybrid between DNS and LDAP.
[Oracle][1] says the following about it:
> NIS is a distributed naming service. It is a mechanism for identifying and locating network objects and resources. It provides a uniform storage and retrieval method for network-wide information in a transport-protocol and media-independent fashion.
And on its use:
> By running NIS, the system administrator can distribute administrative databases, called maps, among a variety of servers (master and slaves). The administrator can update those databases from a centralized location in an automatic and reliable fashion to ensure that all clients share the same naming service information in a consistent manner throughout the network.
The module documented within will allow a tester to dump any map from an
NIS server (running as `ypserv`). Usually, maps like `passwd.byname`
contain things like hashes and user info, which can go a long way during
a pentest.
## Setup
Set up NIS as per <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpNISHowTo>.
If the link is down, you can find it via the Wayback Machine.