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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Amazon Linux 2023

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Add nodev Option to /var/log

    The <code>nodev</code> mount option can be used to prevent device files from being created in <code>/var/log</code>. Legitimate character and block devices should exist only in the <code>/dev</code...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add noexec Option to /var/log

    The <code>noexec</code> mount option can be used to prevent binaries from being executed out of <code>/var/log</code>. Add the <code>noexec</code> option to the fourth column of <code>/etc/fstab</c...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add nosuid Option to /var/log

    The <code>nosuid</code> mount option can be used to prevent execution of setuid programs in <code>/var/log</code>. The SUID and SGID permissions should not be required in directories containing log...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add nodev Option to /var

    The <code>nodev</code> mount option can be used to prevent device files from being created in <code>/var</code>. Legitimate character and block devices should exist only in the <code>/dev</code> di...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add nosuid Option to /var

    The <code>nosuid</code> mount option can be used to prevent execution of setuid programs in <code>/var</code>. The SUID and SGID permissions should not be required for this directory. Add the <code...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add nodev Option to /var/tmp

    The <code>nodev</code> mount option can be used to prevent device files from being created in <code>/var/tmp</code>. Legitimate character and block devices should not exist within temporary directo...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add noexec Option to /var/tmp

    The <code>noexec</code> mount option can be used to prevent binaries from being executed out of <code>/var/tmp</code>. Add the <code>noexec</code> option to the fourth column of <code>/etc/fstab</c...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Add nosuid Option to /var/tmp

    The <code>nosuid</code> mount option can be used to prevent execution of setuid programs in <code>/var/tmp</code>. The SUID and SGID permissions should not be required in these world-writable direc...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Restrict Programs from Dangerous Execution Patterns

    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 ...
    Group
    Show

  • Uninstall mcstrans Package

    The <code>mcstransd</code> daemon provides category label information to client processes requesting information. The label translations are defined in <code>/etc/selinux/targeted/setrans.conf</cod...
    Rule Low Severity
    Show

  • Uninstall setroubleshoot Package

    The SETroubleshoot service notifies desktop users of SELinux denials. The service provides information around configuration errors, unauthorized intrusions, and other potential errors. The <code>se...
    Rule Low Severity
    Show

  • Ensure SELinux Not Disabled in /etc/default/grub

    SELinux can be disabled at boot time by an argument in <code>/etc/default/grub</code>. Remove any instances of <code>selinux=0</code> from the kernel arguments in that file to prevent SELinux from ...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Permissions on shadow File

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/shadow, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/shadow
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify File Permissions Within Some Important Directories

    Some directories contain files whose confidentiality or integrity is notably important and may also be susceptible to misconfiguration over time, particularly if unpackaged software is installed. A...
    Group
    Show

  • Add noexec Option to /tmp

    The <code>noexec</code> mount option can be used to prevent binaries from being executed out of <code>/tmp</code>. Add the <code>noexec</code> option to the fourth column of <code>/etc/fstab</code>...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns cron.daily

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/cron.daily, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/cron.daily
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns cron.hourly

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/cron.hourly, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/cron.hourly
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Record Information on the Use of Privileged Commands

    At a minimum, the audit system should collect the execution of privileged commands for all users and root.
    Group
    Show

  • Action for auditd to take when disk space is low

    The setting for admin_space_left_action in /etc/audit/auditd.conf
    Value
    Show

  • Maximum audit log file size for auditd

    The setting for max_log_file in /etc/audit/auditd.conf
    Value
    Show

  • net.ipv4.conf.default.secure_redirects

    Enable to prevent hijacking of routing path by only allowing redirects from gateways known in routing table. Disable to refuse acceptance of secure ICMP redirected packages by default.
    Value
    Show

  • net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts

    Ignore all ICMP ECHO and TIMESTAMP requests sent to it via broadcast/multicast
    Value
    Show

  • net.ipv4.icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses

    Enable to prevent unnecessary logging
    Value
    Show

  • net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies

    Enable to turn on TCP SYN Cookie Protection
    Value
    Show

  • Verify User Who Owns Backup shadow File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/shadow-, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/shadow-
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns group File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/group, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/group
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns gshadow File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/gshadow, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/gshadow
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns passwd File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/passwd, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/passwd
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns shadow File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/shadow, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/shadow
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Uninstall DHCP Server Package

    If the system does not need to act as a DHCP server, the dhcp package can be uninstalled. The <code>dhcp</code> package can be removed with the following command: <pre> $ sudo dnf remove dhcp</pre...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • DNS Server

    Most organizations have an operational need to run at least one nameserver. However, there are many common attacks involving DNS server software, and this server software should be disabled on any ...
    Group
    Show

  • Verify Ownership on SSH Server Private *_key Key Files

    SSH server private keys, files that match the /etc/ssh/*_key glob, must be owned by root user.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Ownership on SSH Server Public *.pub Key Files

    SSH server public keys, files that match the /etc/ssh/*.pub glob, must be owned by root user.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns Backup gshadow File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/gshadow-, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/gshadow-
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify Group Who Owns Backup passwd File

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/passwd-, run the command: 
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/passwd-
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify permissions on System Login Banner for Remote Connections

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/issue.net, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/issue.net
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Verify permissions on Message of the Day Banner

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/motd, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/motd
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Protect Accounts by Restricting Password-Based Login

    Conventionally, Unix shell accounts are accessed by providing a username and password to a login program, which tests these values for correctness using the <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/...
    Group
    Show

  • Ensure All Accounts on the System Have Unique User IDs

    Change user IDs (UIDs), or delete accounts, so each has a unique name.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Ensure All Groups on the System Have Unique Group ID

    Change the group name or delete groups, so each has a unique id.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Ensure All Groups on the System Have Unique Group Names

    Change the group name or delete groups, so each has a unique name.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Ensure There Are No Accounts With Blank or Null Passwords

    Check the "/etc/shadow" file for blank passwords with the following command: <pre>$ sudo awk -F: '!$2 {print $1}' /etc/shadow</pre> If the command returns any results, this is a finding. Configure ...
    Rule High Severity
    Show

  • Install sudo Package

    The sudo package can be installed with the following command: 
    $ sudo dnf install sudo
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Ensure Only Users Logged In To Real tty Can Execute Sudo - sudo use_pty

    The sudo <code>use_pty</code> tag, when specified, will only execute sudo commands from users logged in to a real tty. This should be enabled by making sure that the <code>use_pty</code> tag exists...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Ensure Sudo Logfile Exists - sudo logfile

    A custom log sudo file can be configured with the 'logfile' tag. This rule configures a sudo custom logfile at the default location suggested by CIS, which uses /var/log/sudo.log.
    Rule Low Severity
    Show

  • Verify permissions on System Login Banner

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/issue, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/issue
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Build and Test AIDE Database

    Run the following command to generate a new database: <pre>$ sudo /usr/sbin/aide --init</pre> By default, the database will be written to the file <code>/var/lib/aide/aide.db.new.gz</code>. Sto...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Configure AIDE to Verify the Audit Tools

    The operating system file integrity tool must be configured to protect the integrity of the audit tools.
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • Configure Periodic Execution of AIDE

    At a minimum, AIDE should be configured to run a weekly scan. To implement a daily execution of AIDE at 4:05am using cron, add the following line to <code>/etc/crontab</code>: <pre>05 4 * * * root ...
    Rule Medium Severity
    Show

  • System Cryptographic Policies

    Linux has the capability to centrally configure cryptographic polices. The command <code>update-crypto-policies</code> is used to set the policy applicable for the various cryptographic back-ends, ...
    Group
    Show

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