Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

with profile ANSSI DAT-NT28 (high)
Draft profile for ANSSI compliance at the high level. ANSSI stands for Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information. Based on https://www.ssi.gouv.fr/.

This guide presents a catalog of security-relevant configuration settings for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. It is a rendering of content structured in the eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format (XCCDF) in order to support security automation. The SCAP content is is available in the scap-security-guide package which is developed at https://www.open-scap.org/security-policies/scap-security-guide.

Providing system administrators with such guidance informs them how to securely configure systems under their control in a variety of network roles. Policy makers and baseline creators can use this catalog of settings, with its associated references to higher-level security control catalogs, in order to assist them in security baseline creation. This guide is a catalog, not a checklist, and satisfaction of every item is not likely to be possible or sensible in many operational scenarios. However, the XCCDF format enables granular selection and adjustment of settings, and their association with OVAL and OCIL content provides an automated checking capability. Transformations of this document, and its associated automated checking content, are capable of providing baselines that meet a diverse set of policy objectives. Some example XCCDF Profiles, which are selections of items that form checklists and can be used as baselines, are available with this guide. They can be processed, in an automated fashion, with tools that support the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). The DISA STIG for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, which provides required settings for US Department of Defense systems, is one example of a baseline created from this guidance.

This benchmark is a direct port of a SCAP Security Guide benchmark developed for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It has been modified through an automated process to remove specific dependencies on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and to function with Scientifc Linux. The result is a generally useful SCAP Security Guide benchmark with the following caveats:

  • Scientifc Linux is not an exact copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. It is a free and open source operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and aims to be "as close to the commercial enterprise distribution as we can get it." There may be configuration differences that produce false positives and/or false negatives. If this occurs please file a bug report.
  • Scientifc Linux is derived from the free and open source software made available by Red Hat, but it is not produced, maintained or supported by Red Hat. Scientifc Linux has its own build system, compiler options, patchsets, and is a community supported, non-commercial operating system. Scientifc Linux does not inherit certifications or evaluations from Red Hat Enterprise Linux. As such, some configuration rules (such as those requiring FIPS 140-2 encryption) will continue to fail on Scientifc Linux.

Members of the Scientifc Linux community are invited to participate in OpenSCAP and SCAP Security Guide development. Bug reports and patches can be sent to GitHub: https://github.com/OpenSCAP/scap-security-guide. The mailing list is at https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/scap-security-guide.

Do not attempt to implement any of the settings in this guide without first testing them in a non-operational environment. The creators of this guidance assume no responsibility whatsoever for its use by other parties, and makes no guarantees, expressed or implied, about its quality, reliability, or any other characteristic.
Profile TitleANSSI DAT-NT28 (high)
Profile IDxccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_anssi_nt28_high

Revision History

Current version: 0.1.38

  • draft (as of 2018-03-05)

Platforms

  • cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
  • cpe:/o:scientificlinux:scientificlinux:7
  • cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7::client
  • cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode

Table of Contents

  1. System Settings
    1. Installing and Maintaining Software
    2. File Permissions and Masks
    3. Configure Syslog

Checklist

contains 19 rules

System Settings   [ref]group

Contains rules that check correct system settings.

contains 19 rules

Installing and Maintaining Software   [ref]group

The following sections contain information on security-relevant choices during the initial operating system installation process and the setup of software updates.

contains 7 rules

Disk Partitioning   [ref]group

To ensure separation and protection of data, there are top-level system directories which should be placed on their own physical partition or logical volume. The installer's default partitioning scheme creates separate logical volumes for /, /boot, and swap.

  • If starting with any of the default layouts, check the box to "Review and modify partitioning." This allows for the easy creation of additional logical volumes inside the volume group already created, though it may require making /'s logical volume smaller to create space. In general, using logical volumes is preferable to using partitions because they can be more easily adjusted later.
  • If creating a custom layout, create the partitions mentioned in the previous paragraph (which the installer will require anyway), as well as separate ones described in the following sections.
If a system has already been installed, and the default partitioning scheme was used, it is possible but nontrivial to modify it to create separate logical volumes for the directories listed above. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) makes this possible. See the LVM HOWTO at http://tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/ for more detailed information on LVM.

contains 5 rules

Ensure /tmp Located On Separate Partition   [ref]rule

The /tmp directory is a world-writable directory used for temporary file storage. Ensure it has its own partition or logical volume at installation time, or migrate it using LVM.

Rationale:

The /tmp partition is used as temporary storage by many programs. Placing /tmp in its own partition enables the setting of more restrictive mount options, which can help protect programs which use it.

Severity:  low

References:  SV-86689r1_rule

Ensure /var Located On Separate Partition   [ref]rule

The /var directory is used by daemons and other system services to store frequently-changing data. Ensure that /var has its own partition or logical volume at installation time, or migrate it using LVM.

Rationale:

Ensuring that /var is mounted on its own partition enables the setting of more restrictive mount options. This helps protect system services such as daemons or other programs which use it. It is not uncommon for the /var directory to contain world-writable directories installed by other software packages.

Severity:  low

References:  SV-86685r1_rule

Ensure /var/log Located On Separate Partition   [ref]rule

System logs are stored in the /var/log directory. Ensure that it has its own partition or logical volume at installation time, or migrate it using LVM.

Rationale:

Placing /var/log in its own partition enables better separation between log files and other files in /var/.

Severity:  low

References:  AU-9, SC-32, 1.1.11

Ensure /var/log/audit Located On Separate Partition   [ref]rule

Audit logs are stored in the /var/log/audit directory. Ensure that it has its own partition or logical volume at installation time, or migrate it later using LVM. Make absolutely certain that it is large enough to store all audit logs that will be created by the auditing daemon.

Rationale:

Placing /var/log/audit in its own partition enables better separation between audit files and other files, and helps ensure that auditing cannot be halted due to the partition running out of space.

Severity:  low

References:  SV-86687r3_rule

Ensure /home Located On Separate Partition   [ref]rule

If user home directories will be stored locally, create a separate partition for /home at installation time (or migrate it later using LVM). If /home will be mounted from another system such as an NFS server, then creating a separate partition is not necessary at installation time, and the mountpoint can instead be configured later.

Rationale:

Ensuring that /home is mounted on its own partition enables the setting of more restrictive mount options, and also helps ensure that users cannot trivially fill partitions used for log or audit data storage.

Severity:  low

References:  SV-86683r1_rule

Sudo   [ref]group

Sudo, which stands for "su 'do'", provides the ability to delegate authority to certain users, groups of users, or system administrators. When configured for system users and/or groups, Sudo can allow a user or group to execute privileged commands that normally only root is allowed to execute.

For more information on Sudo and addition Sudo configuration options, see https://www.sudo.ws

contains 2 rules

Ensure Users Re-Authenticate for Privilege Escalation - sudo NOPASSWD   [ref]rule

The sudo NOPASSWD tag, when specified, allows a user to execute commands using sudo without having to authenticate. This should be disabled by making sure that the NOPASSWD tag does not exist in /etc/sudoers configuration file or any sudo configuration snippets in /etc/sudoers.d/.

Rationale:

Without re-authentication, users may access resources or perform tasks for which they do not have authorization.

When operating systems provide the capability to escalate a functional capability, it is critical that the user re-authenticate.

Severity:  medium

References:  SV-86571r1_rule

Ensure Users Re-Authenticate for Privilege Escalation - sudo !authenticate   [ref]rule

The sudo !authenticate option, when specified, allows a user to execute commands using sudo without having to authenticate. This should be disabled by making sure that the !authenticate option does not exist in /etc/sudoers configuration file or any sudo configuration snippets in /etc/sudoers.d/.

Rationale:

Without re-authentication, users may access resources or perform tasks for which they do not have authorization.

When operating systems provide the capability to escalate a functional capability, it is critical that the user re-authenticate.

Severity:  medium

References:  SV-86573r2_rule

File Permissions and Masks   [ref]group

Traditional Unix security relies heavily on file and directory permissions to prevent unauthorized users from reading or modifying files to which they should not have access.

Several of the commands in this section search filesystems for files or directories with certain characteristics, and are intended to be run on every local partition on a given system. When the variable PART appears in one of the commands below, it means that the command is intended to be run repeatedly, with the name of each local partition substituted for PART in turn.

The following command prints a list of all xfs partitions on the local system, which is the default filesystem for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 installations:

$ mount -t xfs | awk '{print $3}'
For any systems that use a different local filesystem type, modify this command as appropriate.

contains 6 rules

Verify Permissions on Important Files and Directories   [ref]group

Permissions for many files on a system must be set restrictively to ensure sensitive information is properly protected. This section discusses important permission restrictions which can be verified to ensure that no harmful discrepancies have arisen.

contains 4 rules
contains 4 rules

Verify Permissions on shadow File   [ref]rule

To properly set the permissions of /etc/shadow, run the command:

$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/shadow

Rationale:

The /etc/shadow file contains the list of local system accounts and stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security. Failure to give ownership of this file to root provides the designated owner with access to sensitive information which could weaken the system security posture.

Severity:  medium

References:  AC-6, Req-8.7.c, 5.5.2.2, 6.1.3

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure
chmod 0000 /etc/shadow
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure
- name: Ensure permission 0000 on /etc/shadow
  file:
    path="{{item}}"
    mode=0000
  with_items:
    - /etc/shadow
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_shadow
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-27100-7
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6
    - PCI-DSS-Req-8.7.c
    - CJIS-5.5.2.2

Verify Permissions on group File   [ref]rule

To properly set the permissions of /etc/group, run the command:

$ sudo chmod 644 /etc/group

Rationale:

The /etc/group file contains information regarding groups that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is important for system security.

Severity:  medium

References:  AC-6, Req-8.7.c, 5.5.2.2, 6.1.4

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

chmod 0644 /etc/group
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

- name: Find /etc/group file(s)
  find:
    paths: "{{ '/etc/group' | dirname }}"
    patterns: "{{ '/etc/group' | basename }}"
  register: files_found
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_group
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-26949-8
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6
    - PCI-DSS-Req-8.7.c
    - CJIS-5.5.2.2

- name: Set permissions
  file:
    path: "{{ item.path }}"
    mode: 0644
  with_items:
    - "{{ files_found.files }}"
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_group
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-26949-8
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6
    - PCI-DSS-Req-8.7.c
    - CJIS-5.5.2.2

Verify Permissions on gshadow File   [ref]rule

To properly set the permissions of /etc/gshadow, run the command:

$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/gshadow

Rationale:

The /etc/gshadow file contains group password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

Severity:  medium

References:  AC-6, 6.1.5

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

chmod 0000 /etc/gshadow
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

- name: Find /etc/gshadow file(s)
  find:
    paths: "{{ '/etc/gshadow' | dirname }}"
    patterns: "{{ '/etc/gshadow' | basename }}"
  register: files_found
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_gshadow
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-27162-7
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6

- name: Set permissions
  file:
    path: "{{ item.path }}"
    mode: 0000
  with_items:
    - "{{ files_found.files }}"
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_gshadow
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-27162-7
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6

Verify Permissions on passwd File   [ref]rule

To properly set the permissions of /etc/passwd, run the command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd

Rationale:

If the /etc/passwd file is writable by a group-owner or the world the risk of its compromise is increased. The file contains the list of accounts on the system and associated information, and protection of this file is critical for system security.

Severity:  medium

References:  AC-6, Req-8.7.c, 5.5.2.2, 6.1.2

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

chmod 0644 /etc/passwd
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:configure

- name: Find /etc/passwd file(s)
  find:
    paths: "{{ '/etc/passwd' | dirname }}"
    patterns: "{{ '/etc/passwd' | basename }}"
  register: files_found
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_passwd
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-26887-0
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6
    - PCI-DSS-Req-8.7.c
    - CJIS-5.5.2.2

- name: Set permissions
  file:
    path: "{{ item.path }}"
    mode: 0644
  with_items:
    - "{{ files_found.files }}"
  tags:
    - file_permissions_etc_passwd
    - medium_severity
    - configure_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-26887-0
    - NIST-800-53-AC-6
    - PCI-DSS-Req-8.7.c
    - CJIS-5.5.2.2

Restrict Programs from Dangerous Execution Patterns   [ref]group

The recommendations in this section are designed to ensure that the system's features to protect against potentially dangerous program execution are activated. These protections are applied at the system initialization or kernel level, and defend against certain types of badly-configured or compromised programs.

contains 2 rules

Disable Core Dumps   [ref]group

A core dump file is the memory image of an executable program when it was terminated by the operating system due to errant behavior. In most cases, only software developers legitimately need to access these files. The core dump files may also contain sensitive information, or unnecessarily occupy large amounts of disk space.

Once a hard limit is set in /etc/security/limits.conf, a user cannot increase that limit within his or her own session. If access to core dumps is required, consider restricting them to only certain users or groups. See the limits.conf man page for more information.

The core dumps of setuid programs are further protected. The sysctl variable fs.suid_dumpable controls whether the kernel allows core dumps from these programs at all. The default value of 0 is recommended.

contains 1 rule

Disable Core Dumps for SUID programs   [ref]rule

To set the runtime status of the fs.suid_dumpable kernel parameter, run the following command:

$ sudo sysctl -w fs.suid_dumpable=0
If this is not the system's default value, add the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf:
fs.suid_dumpable = 0

Rationale:

The core dump of a setuid program is more likely to contain sensitive data, as the program itself runs with greater privileges than the user who initiated execution of the program. Disabling the ability for any setuid program to write a core file decreases the risk of unauthorized access of such data.

Severity:  low

References:  SI-11, 1.5.1

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:medium
Reboot:true
Strategy:disable


#
# Set runtime for fs.suid_dumpable
#
/sbin/sysctl -q -n -w fs.suid_dumpable=0

#
# If fs.suid_dumpable present in /etc/sysctl.conf, change value to "0"
#	else, add "fs.suid_dumpable = 0" to /etc/sysctl.conf
#
# Function to replace configuration setting in config file or add the configuration setting if
# it does not exist.
#
# Expects four arguments:
#
# config_file:		Configuration file that will be modified
# key:			Configuration option to change
# value:		Value of the configuration option to change
# cce:			The CCE identifier or '@CCENUM@' if no CCE identifier exists
#
# Optional arugments:
#
# format:		Optional argument to specify the format of how key/value should be
# 			modified/appended in the configuration file. The default is key = value.
#
# Example Call(s):
#
#     With default format of 'key = value':
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysctl.conf' '^kernel.randomize_va_space' '2' '@CCENUM@'
#
#     With custom key/value format:
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysconfig/selinux' '^SELINUX=' 'disabled' '@CCENUM@' '%s=%s'
#
#     With a variable:
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysconfig/selinux' '^SELINUX=' $var_selinux_state '@CCENUM@' '%s=%s'
#
function replace_or_append {
  local config_file=$1
  local key=$2
  local value=$3
  local cce=$4
  local format=$5

  # Check sanity of the input
  if [ $# -lt "3" ]
  then
        echo "Usage: replace_or_append 'config_file_location' 'key_to_search' 'new_value'"
        echo
        echo "If symlinks need to be taken into account, add yes/no to the last argument"
        echo "to allow to 'follow_symlinks'."
        echo "Aborting."
        exit 1
  fi

  # Test if the config_file is a symbolic link. If so, use --follow-symlinks with sed.
  # Otherwise, regular sed command will do.
  if test -L $config_file; then
    sed_command="sed -i --follow-symlinks"
  else
    sed_command="sed -i"
  fi

  # Test that the cce arg is not empty or does not equal @CCENUM@.
  # If @CCENUM@ exists, it means that there is no CCE assigned.
  if ! [ "x$cce" = x ] && [ "$cce" != '@CCENUM@' ]; then
    cce="CCE-${cce}"
  else
    cce="CCE"
  fi

  # Strip any search characters in the key arg so that the key can be replaced without
  # adding any search characters to the config file.
  stripped_key=$(sed "s/[\^=\$,;+]*//g" <<< $key)

  # If there is no print format specified in the last arg, use the default format.
  if ! [ "x$format" = x ] ; then
    printf -v formatted_output "$format" "$stripped_key" "$value"
  else
    formatted_output="$stripped_key = $value"
  fi

  # If the key exists, change it. Otherwise, add it to the config_file.
  if `grep -qi "$key" $config_file` ; then
    eval '$sed_command "s/$key.*/$formatted_output/g" $config_file'
  else
    # \n is precaution for case where file ends without trailing newline
    echo -e "\n# Per $cce: Set $formatted_output in $config_file" >> $config_file
    echo -e "$formatted_output" >> $config_file
  fi

}

replace_or_append '/etc/sysctl.conf' '^fs.suid_dumpable' "0" 'CCE-26900-1'
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:medium
Reboot:true
Strategy:disable
- name: Ensure sysctl fs.suid_dumpable is set to 0
  sysctl:
    name: fs.suid_dumpable
    value: 0
    state: present
    reload: yes
  tags:
    - sysctl_fs_suid_dumpable
    - low_severity
    - disable_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - medium_disruption
    - CCE-26900-1
    - NIST-800-53-SI-11

Enable ExecShield   [ref]group

ExecShield describes kernel features that provide protection against exploitation of memory corruption errors such as buffer overflows. These features include random placement of the stack and other memory regions, prevention of execution in memory that should only hold data, and special handling of text buffers. These protections are enabled by default on 32-bit systems and controlled through sysctl variables kernel.exec-shield and kernel.randomize_va_space. On the latest 64-bit systems, kernel.exec-shield cannot be enabled or disabled with sysctl.

contains 1 rule

Enable Randomized Layout of Virtual Address Space   [ref]rule

To set the runtime status of the kernel.randomize_va_space kernel parameter, run the following command:

$ sudo sysctl -w kernel.randomize_va_space=2
If this is not the system's default value, add the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf:
kernel.randomize_va_space = 2

Rationale:

Address space layout randomization (ASLR) makes it more difficult for an attacker to predict the location of attack code they have introduced into a process's address space during an attempt at exploitation. Additionally, ASLR makes it more difficult for an attacker to know the location of existing code in order to re-purpose it using return oriented programming (ROP) techniques.

Severity:  medium

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:medium
Reboot:true
Strategy:disable
# Function to replace configuration setting in config file or add the configuration setting if
# it does not exist.
#
# Expects four arguments:
#
# config_file:		Configuration file that will be modified
# key:			Configuration option to change
# value:		Value of the configuration option to change
# cce:			The CCE identifier or '@CCENUM@' if no CCE identifier exists
#
# Optional arugments:
#
# format:		Optional argument to specify the format of how key/value should be
# 			modified/appended in the configuration file. The default is key = value.
#
# Example Call(s):
#
#     With default format of 'key = value':
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysctl.conf' '^kernel.randomize_va_space' '2' '@CCENUM@'
#
#     With custom key/value format:
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysconfig/selinux' '^SELINUX=' 'disabled' '@CCENUM@' '%s=%s'
#
#     With a variable:
#     replace_or_append '/etc/sysconfig/selinux' '^SELINUX=' $var_selinux_state '@CCENUM@' '%s=%s'
#
function replace_or_append {
  local config_file=$1
  local key=$2
  local value=$3
  local cce=$4
  local format=$5

  # Check sanity of the input
  if [ $# -lt "3" ]
  then
        echo "Usage: replace_or_append 'config_file_location' 'key_to_search' 'new_value'"
        echo
        echo "If symlinks need to be taken into account, add yes/no to the last argument"
        echo "to allow to 'follow_symlinks'."
        echo "Aborting."
        exit 1
  fi

  # Test if the config_file is a symbolic link. If so, use --follow-symlinks with sed.
  # Otherwise, regular sed command will do.
  if test -L $config_file; then
    sed_command="sed -i --follow-symlinks"
  else
    sed_command="sed -i"
  fi

  # Test that the cce arg is not empty or does not equal @CCENUM@.
  # If @CCENUM@ exists, it means that there is no CCE assigned.
  if ! [ "x$cce" = x ] && [ "$cce" != '@CCENUM@' ]; then
    cce="CCE-${cce}"
  else
    cce="CCE"
  fi

  # Strip any search characters in the key arg so that the key can be replaced without
  # adding any search characters to the config file.
  stripped_key=$(sed "s/[\^=\$,;+]*//g" <<< $key)

  # If there is no print format specified in the last arg, use the default format.
  if ! [ "x$format" = x ] ; then
    printf -v formatted_output "$format" "$stripped_key" "$value"
  else
    formatted_output="$stripped_key = $value"
  fi

  # If the key exists, change it. Otherwise, add it to the config_file.
  if `grep -qi "$key" $config_file` ; then
    eval '$sed_command "s/$key.*/$formatted_output/g" $config_file'
  else
    # \n is precaution for case where file ends without trailing newline
    echo -e "\n# Per $cce: Set $formatted_output in $config_file" >> $config_file
    echo -e "$formatted_output" >> $config_file
  fi

}

replace_or_append '/etc/sysctl.conf' '^kernel.randomize_va_space' '2' 'CCE-27127-0'
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:medium
Reboot:true
Strategy:disable
- name: Ensure sysctl kernel.randomize_va_space is set to 2
  sysctl:
    name: kernel.randomize_va_space
    value: 2
    state: present
    reload: yes
  tags:
    - sysctl_kernel_randomize_va_space
    - medium_severity
    - disable_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - medium_disruption
    - CCE-27127-0
    - NIST-800-53-SC-30(2)
    - NIST-800-171-3.1.7
    - DISA-STIG-RHEL-07-040201

Configure Syslog   [ref]group

The syslog service has been the default Unix logging mechanism for many years. It has a number of downsides, including inconsistent log format, lack of authentication for received messages, and lack of authentication, encryption, or reliable transport for messages sent over a network. However, due to its long history, syslog is a de facto standard which is supported by almost all Unix applications.

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, rsyslog has replaced ksyslogd as the syslog daemon of choice, and it includes some additional security features such as reliable, connection-oriented (i.e. TCP) transmission of logs, the option to log to database formats, and the encryption of log data en route to a central logging server. This section discusses how to configure rsyslog for best effect, and how to use tools provided with the system to maintain and monitor logs.

contains 6 rules

Ensure Proper Configuration of Log Files   [ref]group

The file /etc/rsyslog.conf controls where log message are written. These are controlled by lines called rules, which consist of a selector and an action. These rules are often customized depending on the role of the system, the requirements of the environment, and whatever may enable the administrator to most effectively make use of log data. The default rules in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are:

*.info;mail.none;authpriv.none;cron.none                /var/log/messages
authpriv.*                                              /var/log/secure
mail.*                                                  -/var/log/maillog
cron.*                                                  /var/log/cron
*.emerg                                                 *
uucp,news.crit                                          /var/log/spooler
local7.*                                                /var/log/boot.log
See the man page rsyslog.conf(5) for more information. Note that the rsyslog daemon can be configured to use a timestamp format that some log processing programs may not understand. If this occurs, edit the file /etc/rsyslog.conf and add or edit the following line:
$ ActionFileDefaultTemplate RSYSLOG_TraditionalFileFormat

contains 3 rules

Ensure Log Files Are Owned By Appropriate User   [ref]rule

The owner of all log files written by rsyslog should be root. These log files are determined by the second part of each Rule line in /etc/rsyslog.conf and typically all appear in /var/log. For each log file LOGFILE referenced in /etc/rsyslog.conf, run the following command to inspect the file's owner:

$ ls -l LOGFILE
If the owner is not root, run the following command to correct this:
$ sudo chown root LOGFILE

Rationale:

The log files generated by rsyslog contain valuable information regarding system configuration, user authentication, and other such information. Log files should be protected from unauthorized access.

Severity:  medium

Ensure Log Files Are Owned By Appropriate Group   [ref]rule

The group-owner of all log files written by rsyslog should be root. These log files are determined by the second part of each Rule line in /etc/rsyslog.conf and typically all appear in /var/log. For each log file LOGFILE referenced in /etc/rsyslog.conf, run the following command to inspect the file's group owner:

$ ls -l LOGFILE
If the owner is not root, run the following command to correct this:
$ sudo chgrp root LOGFILE

Rationale:

The log files generated by rsyslog contain valuable information regarding system configuration, user authentication, and other such information. Log files should be protected from unauthorized access.

Severity:  medium

Ensure System Log Files Have Correct Permissions   [ref]rule

The file permissions for all log files written by rsyslog should be set to 600, or more restrictive. These log files are determined by the second part of each Rule line in /etc/rsyslog.conf and typically all appear in /var/log. For each log file LOGFILE referenced in /etc/rsyslog.conf, run the following command to inspect the file's permissions:

$ ls -l LOGFILE
If the permissions are not 600 or more restrictive, run the following command to correct this:
$ sudo chmod 0600 LOGFILE

Rationale:

Log files can contain valuable information regarding system configuration. If the system log files are not protected unauthorized users could change the logged data, eliminating their forensic value.

Severity:  medium

Remediation Shell script:   (show)


# List of log file paths to be inspected for correct permissions
# * Primarily inspect log file paths listed in /etc/rsyslog.conf
RSYSLOG_ETC_CONFIG="/etc/rsyslog.conf"
# * And also the log file paths listed after rsyslog's $IncludeConfig directive
#   (store the result into array for the case there's shell glob used as value of IncludeConfig)
RSYSLOG_INCLUDE_CONFIG=($(grep -e "\$IncludeConfig[[:space:]]\+[^[:space:];]\+" /etc/rsyslog.conf | cut -d ' ' -f 2))
# Declare an array to hold the final list of different log file paths
declare -a LOG_FILE_PATHS

# Browse each file selected above as containing paths of log files
# ('/etc/rsyslog.conf' and '/etc/rsyslog.d/*.conf' in the default configuration)
for LOG_FILE in "${RSYSLOG_ETC_CONFIG}" "${RSYSLOG_INCLUDE_CONFIG[@]}"
do
	# From each of these files extract just particular log file path(s), thus:
	# * Ignore lines starting with space (' '), comment ('#"), or variable syntax ('$') characters,
	# * Ignore empty lines,
	# * From the remaining valid rows select only fields constituting a log file path
	# Text file column is understood to represent a log file path if and only if all of the following are met:
	# * it contains at least one slash '/' character,
	# * it doesn't contain space (' '), colon (':'), and semicolon (';') characters
	# Search log file for path(s) only in case it exists!
	if [[ -f "${LOG_FILE}" ]]
	then
		MATCHED_ITEMS=$(sed -e "/^[[:space:]|#|$]/d ; s/[^\/]*[[:space:]]*\([^:;[:space:]]*\)/\1/g ; /^$/d" "${LOG_FILE}")
		# Since above sed command might return more than one item (delimited by newline), split the particular
		# matches entries into new array specific for this log file
		readarray -t ARRAY_FOR_LOG_FILE <<< "$MATCHED_ITEMS"
		# Concatenate the two arrays - previous content of $LOG_FILE_PATHS array with
		# items from newly created array for this log file
		LOG_FILE_PATHS=("${LOG_FILE_PATHS[@]}" "${ARRAY_FOR_LOG_FILE[@]}")
		# Delete the temporary array
		unset ARRAY_FOR_LOG_FILE
	fi
done

for PATH in "${LOG_FILE_PATHS[@]}"
do
	# Sanity check - if particular $PATH is empty string, skip it from further processing
	if [ -z "$PATH" ]
	then
		continue
	fi

	# In RHEL 7 we have systemd, so it doesn't make sense to patch/change /etc/rc.d/rc.local,
	# as per BZ https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1404381

	# Also for each log file check if its permissions differ from 600. If so, correct them
	if [ "$(/usr/bin/stat -c %a "$PATH")" -ne 600 ]
	then
		/bin/chmod 600 "$PATH"
	fi
done

Ensure All Logs are Rotated by logrotate   [ref]group

Edit the file /etc/logrotate.d/syslog. Find the first line, which should look like this (wrapped for clarity):

/var/log/messages /var/log/secure /var/log/maillog /var/log/spooler \
  /var/log/boot.log /var/log/cron {
Edit this line so that it contains a one-space-separated listing of each log file referenced in /etc/rsyslog.conf.

All logs in use on a system must be rotated regularly, or the log files will consume disk space over time, eventually interfering with system operation. The file /etc/logrotate.d/syslog is the configuration file used by the logrotate program to maintain all log files written by syslog. By default, it rotates logs weekly and stores four archival copies of each log. These settings can be modified by editing /etc/logrotate.conf, but the defaults are sufficient for purposes of this guide.

Note that logrotate is run nightly by the cron job /etc/cron.daily/logrotate. If particularly active logs need to be rotated more often than once a day, some other mechanism must be used.

contains 1 rule

Ensure Logrotate Runs Periodically   [ref]rule

The logrotate utility allows for the automatic rotation of log files. The frequency of rotation is specified in /etc/logrotate.conf, which triggers a cron task. To configure logrotate to run daily, add or correct the following line in /etc/logrotate.conf:

# rotate log files frequency
daily

Rationale:

Log files that are not properly rotated run the risk of growing so large that they fill up the /var/log partition. Valuable logging information could be lost if the /var/log partition becomes full.

Severity:  low

References:  AU-9, CCI-000366, Req-10.7

Ensure rsyslog is Installed   [ref]rule

Rsyslog is installed by default. The rsyslog package can be installed with the following command:

$ sudo yum install rsyslog

Rationale:

The rsyslog package provides the rsyslog daemon, which provides system logging services.

Severity:  medium

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable
# Function to install or uninstall packages on RHEL and Fedora systems.
#
# Example Call(s):
#
#     package_command install aide
#     package_command remove telnet-server
#
function package_command {

# Load function arguments into local variables
local package_operation=$1
local package=$2

# Check sanity of the input
if [ $# -ne "2" ]
then
  echo "Usage: package_command 'install/uninstall' 'rpm_package_name"
  echo "Aborting."
  exit 1
fi

# If dnf is installed, use dnf; otherwise, use yum
if [ -f "/usr/bin/dnf" ] ; then
  install_util="/usr/bin/dnf"
else
  install_util="/usr/bin/yum"
fi

if [ "$package_operation" != 'remove' ] ; then
  # If the rpm is not installed, install the rpm
  if ! /bin/rpm -q --quiet $package; then
    $install_util -y $package_operation $package
  fi
else
  # If the rpm is installed, uninstall the rpm
  if /bin/rpm -q --quiet $package; then
    $install_util -y $package_operation $package
  fi
fi

}

package_command install rsyslog
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable
- name: Ensure rsyslog is installed
  package:
    name="{{item}}"
    state=present
  with_items:
    - rsyslog
  tags:
    - package_rsyslog_installed
    - medium_severity
    - enable_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-80187-8
    - NIST-800-53-AU-9(2)

Remediation Puppet snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable
include install_rsyslog

class install_rsyslog {
  package { 'rsyslog':
    ensure => 'installed',
  }
}
Remediation Anaconda snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable

package --add=rsyslog

Enable rsyslog Service   [ref]rule

The rsyslog service provides syslog-style logging by default on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. The rsyslog service can be enabled with the following command:

$ sudo systemctl enable rsyslog.service

Rationale:

The rsyslog service must be running in order to provide logging services, which are essential to system administration.

Severity:  medium

Remediation Shell script:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable
# Function to enable/disable and start/stop services on RHEL and Fedora systems.
#
# Example Call(s):
#
#     service_command enable bluetooth
#     service_command disable bluetooth.service
#
#     Using xinetd:
#     service_command disable rsh.socket xinetd=rsh
#
function service_command {

# Load function arguments into local variables
local service_state=$1
local service=$2
local xinetd=$(echo $3 | cut -d'=' -f2)

# Check sanity of the input
if [ $# -lt "2" ]
then
  echo "Usage: service_command 'enable/disable' 'service_name.service'"
  echo
  echo "To enable or disable xinetd services add \'xinetd=service_name\'"
  echo "as the last argument"  
  echo "Aborting."
  exit 1
fi

# If systemctl is installed, use systemctl command; otherwise, use the service/chkconfig commands
if [ -f "/usr/bin/systemctl" ] ; then
  service_util="/usr/bin/systemctl"
else
  service_util="/sbin/service"
  chkconfig_util="/sbin/chkconfig"
fi

# If disable is not specified in arg1, set variables to enable services.
# Otherwise, variables are to be set to disable services.
if [ "$service_state" != 'disable' ] ; then
  service_state="enable"
  service_operation="start"
  chkconfig_state="on"
else
  service_state="disable"
  service_operation="stop"
  chkconfig_state="off"
fi

# If chkconfig_util is not empty, use chkconfig/service commands.
if ! [ "x$chkconfig_util" = x ] ; then
  $service_util $service $service_operation
  $chkconfig_util --level 0123456 $service $chkconfig_state
else
  $service_util $service_operation $service
  $service_util $service_state $service
fi

# Test if local variable xinetd is empty using non-bashism.
# If empty, then xinetd is not being used.
if ! [ "x$xinetd" = x ] ; then
  grep -qi disable /etc/xinetd.d/$xinetd && \

  if ! [ "$service_operation" != 'disable' ] ; then
    sed -i "s/disable.*/disable         = no/gI" /etc/xinetd.d/$xinetd
  else
    sed -i "s/disable.*/disable         = yes/gI" /etc/xinetd.d/$xinetd
  fi
fi

}

service_command enable rsyslog
Remediation Ansible snippet:   (show)

Complexity:low
Disruption:low
Strategy:enable
- name: Enable service rsyslog
  service:
    name="{{item}}"
    enabled="yes"
    state="started"
  with_items:
    - rsyslog
  tags:
    - service_rsyslog_enabled
    - medium_severity
    - enable_strategy
    - low_complexity
    - low_disruption
    - CCE-80188-6
    - NIST-800-53-AU-4(1)
    - NIST-800-53-AU-12

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