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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Disable DCCP Support

    The Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP) is a relatively new transport layer protocol, designed to support streaming media and telephony. To configure the system to prevent the <code>dccp</...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable IEEE 1394 (FireWire) Support

    The IEEE 1394 (FireWire) is a serial bus standard for high-speed real-time communication. To configure the system to prevent the <code>firewire-core</code> kernel module from being loaded, add the...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Disable RDS Support

    The Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol is a transport layer protocol designed to provide reliable high-bandwidth, low-latency communications between nodes in a cluster. To configure the syst...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Disable SCTP Support

    The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is a transport layer protocol, designed to support the idea of message-oriented communication, with several streams of messages within one connection...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable TIPC Support

    The Transparent Inter-Process Communication (TIPC) protocol is designed to provide communications between nodes in a cluster. To configure the system to prevent the <code>tipc</code> kernel module...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Ensure All World-Writable Directories Are Owned by root User

    All directories in local partitions which are world-writable should be owned by root. If any world-writable directories are not owned by root, this should be investigated. Following this, the files...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify User Who Owns passwd File

    To properly set the owner of /etc/passwd, run the command:
    $ sudo chown root /etc/passwd 
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Wireless Networking

    Wireless networking, such as 802.11 (WiFi) and Bluetooth, can present a security risk to sensitive or classified systems and networks. Wireless networking hardware is much more likely to be include...
    Group
  • Disable Wireless Through Software Configuration

    If it is impossible to remove the wireless hardware from the device in question, disable as much of it as possible through software. The following methods can disable software support for wireless ...
    Group
  • Disable Bluetooth Service

    The bluetooth service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now bluetooth.service
    $ sudo service bluetooth stop
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable Bluetooth Kernel Module

    The kernel's module loading system can be configured to prevent loading of the Bluetooth module. Add the following to the appropriate <code>/etc/modprobe.d</code> configuration file to prevent the ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable WiFi or Bluetooth in BIOS

    Some machines that include built-in wireless support offer the ability to disable the device through the BIOS. This is hardware-specific; consult your hardware manual or explore the BIOS setup duri...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Deactivate Wireless Network Interfaces

    Deactivating wireless network interfaces should prevent normal usage of the wireless capability. <br><br> Configure the system to disable all wireless network interfaces with the following command...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable Unused Interfaces

    Network interfaces expand the attack surface of the system. Unused interfaces are not monitored or controlled, and should be disabled. <br><br> If the system does not require network communication...
    Group
  • Transport Layer Security Support

    Support for Transport Layer Security (TLS), and its predecessor, the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the OpenSSL software (RPM package <code>openssl</code>). ...
    Group
  • File Permissions and Masks

    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. <br><br> Several of th...
    Group
  • collectd_tcp_network_connect SELinux Boolean

    default - Default SELinux boolean setting.
    on - SELinux boolean is enabled.
    off - SELinux boolean is disabled.
    Value
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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