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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Disable telnet Service

    Make sure that the activation of the <code>telnet</code> service on system boot is disabled. The <code>telnet</code> socket can be disabled with t...
    Rule High Severity
  • TFTP Server

    TFTP is a lightweight version of the FTP protocol which has traditionally been used to configure networking equipment. However, TFTP provides littl...
    Group
  • TFTP server secure directory

    Specify the directory which is used by TFTP server as a root directory when running in secure mode.
    Value
  • Uninstall tftp-server Package

    The tftp-server package can be removed with the following command:
     $ sudo dnf erase tftp-server
    Rule High Severity
  • Remove tftp Daemon

    Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a simple file transfer protocol, typically used to automatically transfer configuration or boot files betw...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Ensure tftp Daemon Uses Secure Mode

    If running the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) service is necessary, it should be configured to change its root directory at startup. To do s...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Print Support

    The Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) service provides both local and network printing support. A system running the CUPS service can accept print...
    Group
  • Uninstall CUPS Package

    The cups package can be removed with the following command:
    $ sudo dnf erase cups
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable the CUPS Service

    The cups service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now cups.service
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Configure the CUPS Service if Necessary

    CUPS provides the ability to easily share local printers with other systems over the network. It does this by allowing systems to share lists of av...
    Group
  • SSH session Idle time

    Specify duration of allowed idle time.
    Value
  • Remove the FreeRadius Server Package

    The <code>freeradius</code> package should be removed if not in use. Is this system a RADIUS server? If not, remove the package. The <code>freeradi...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Hardware RNG Entropy Gatherer Daemon

    The rngd feeds random data from hardware device to kernel random device.
    Group
  • Enable the Hardware RNG Entropy Gatherer Service

    The Hardware RNG Entropy Gatherer service should be enabled. The <code>rngd</code> service can be enabled with the following command: <pre>$ sudo ...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Network Routing

    A router is a very desirable target for a potential adversary because they fulfill a variety of infrastructure networking roles such as access to ...
    Group
  • Disable Quagga if Possible

    If Quagga was installed and activated, but the system does not need to act as a router, then it should be disabled and removed.
    Group
  • Uninstall quagga Package

    The quagga package can be removed with the following command:
     $ sudo dnf erase quagga
    Rule Low Severity
  • Samba(SMB) Microsoft Windows File Sharing Server

    When properly configured, the Samba service allows Linux systems to provide file and print sharing to Microsoft Windows systems. There are two soft...
    Group
  • Configure Samba if Necessary

    All settings for the Samba daemon can be found in <code>/etc/samba/smb.conf</code>. Settings are divided between a <code>[global]</code> configurat...
    Group
  • Install the Samba Common Package

    The <code>samba-common</code> package should be installed. The <code>samba-common</code> package can be installed with the following command: <pre>...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Require Client SMB Packet Signing, if using mount.cifs

    Require packet signing of clients who mount Samba shares using the <code>mount.cifs</code> program (e.g., those who specify shares in <code>/etc/fs...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Restrict Printer Sharing

    By default, Samba utilizes the CUPS printing service to enable printer sharing with Microsoft Windows workstations. If there are no printers on the...
    Group
  • SSH Server Listening Port

    Specify port the SSH server is listening.
    Value
  • SSH Max authentication attempts

    Specify the maximum number of authentication attempts per connection.
    Value
  • Restrict SMB File Sharing to Configured Networks

    Only users with local user accounts will be able to log in to Samba shares by default. Shares can be limited to particular users or network address...
    Group
  • Disable Samba if Possible

    Even after the Samba server package has been installed, it will remain disabled. Do not enable this service unless it is absolutely necessary to pr...
    Group
  • Uninstall Samba Package

    The samba package can be removed with the following command:
     $ sudo dnf erase samba
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable Samba

    The smb service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now smb.service
    Rule Low Severity
  • SNMP Server

    The Simple Network Management Protocol allows administrators to monitor the state of network devices, including computers. Older versions of SNMP w...
    Group
  • Disable SNMP Server if Possible

    The system includes an SNMP daemon that allows for its remote monitoring, though it not installed by default. If it was installed and activated but...
    Group
  • Uninstall net-snmp Package

    The <code>net-snmp</code> package provides the snmpd service. The <code>net-snmp</code> package can be removed with the following command: <pre> $...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable snmpd Service

    The snmpd service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now snmpd.service
    Rule Low Severity
  • Configure SNMP Server if Necessary

    If it is necessary to run the snmpd agent on the system, some best practices should be followed to minimize the security risk from the installation...
    Group
  • SNMP read-only community string

    Specify the SNMP community string used for read-only access.
    Value
  • SNMP read-write community string

    Specify the SNMP community string used for read-write access.
    Value
  • Ensure SNMP Read Write is disabled

    Edit <code>/etc/snmp/snmpd.conf</code>, remove any <code>rwuser</code> entries. Once the read write users have been removed, restart the SNMP servi...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure SNMP Service to Use Only SNMPv3 or Newer

    Edit <code>/etc/snmp/snmpd.conf</code>, removing any references to <code>rocommunity</code>, <code>rwcommunity</code>, or <code>com2sec</code>. Upo...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • SSH Server

    The SSH protocol is recommended for remote login and remote file transfer. SSH provides confidentiality and integrity for data exchanged between tw...
    Group
  • SSH is required to be installed

    Specify if the Policy requires SSH to be installed. Used by SSH Rules to determine if SSH should be uninstalled or configured.<br> A value of 0 mea...
    Value
  • SSH Strong KEX by FIPS

    Specify the FIPS approved KEXs (Key Exchange Algorithms) algorithms that are used for methods in cryptography by which cryptographic keys are exch...
    Value
  • SSH Max Sessions Count

    Specify the maximum number of open sessions permitted.
    Value
  • SSH Max Keep Alive Count

    Specify the maximum number of idle message counts before session is terminated.
    Value
  • Install OpenSSH client software

    The openssh-clients package can be installed with the following command:
    $ sudo dnf install openssh-clients
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Install the OpenSSH Server Package

    The <code>openssh-server</code> package should be installed. The <code>openssh-server</code> package can be installed with the following command: <...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Remove the OpenSSH Server Package

    The <code>openssh-server</code> package should be removed. The <code>openssh-server</code> package can be removed with the following command: <pre>...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Enable the OpenSSH Service

    The SSH server service, sshd, is commonly needed. The <code>sshd</code> service can be enabled with the following command: <pre>$ sudo systemctl e...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable SSH Server If Possible

    The SSH server service, sshd, is commonly needed. However, if it can be disabled, do so. This is unusual, as SSH is a common method for encrypted ...
    Rule High Severity
  • Verify Group Who Owns SSH Server config file

    To properly set the group owner of /etc/ssh/sshd_config, run the command:
    $ sudo chgrp root /etc/ssh/sshd_config
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify Group Ownership on SSH Server Private *_key Key Files

    SSH server private keys, files that match the /etc/ssh/*_key glob, must be group-owned by ssh_keys group.
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify Group Ownership on SSH Server Public *.pub Key Files

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

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