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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Ubuntu 16.04

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Verify Root Has A Primary GID 0

    The root user should have a primary group of 0.
    Rule High Severity
  • Direct root Logins Not Allowed

    To further limit access to the <code>root</code> account, administrators can disable root logins at the console by editing the <code>/etc/securetty</code> file. This file lists all devices the root...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Restrict Serial Port Root Logins

    To restrict root logins on serial ports, ensure lines of this form do not appear in /etc/securetty:
    ttyS0
    ttyS1
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure Polyinstantiation of /tmp Directories

    To configure polyinstantiated /tmp directories, first create the parent directories which will hold the polyinstantiation child directories. Use the following command: <pre>$ sudo mkdir --mode 000 ...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Configure Polyinstantiation of /var/tmp Directories

    To configure polyinstantiated /tmp directories, first create the parent directories which will hold the polyinstantiation child directories. Use the following command: <pre>$ sudo mkdir --mode 000 ...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Ensure that User Home Directories are not Group-Writable or World-Readable

    For each human user of the system, view the permissions of the user's home directory: <pre># ls -ld /home/<i>USER</i> </pre> Ensure that the directory is not group-writable and that it is n...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure that No Dangerous Directories Exist in Root's Path

    The active path of the root account can be obtained by starting a new root shell and running: <pre># echo $PATH</pre> This will produce a colon-separated list of directories in the path. <br> ...
    Group
  • Ensure that Root's Path Does Not Include World or Group-Writable Directories

    For each element in root's path, run:
    # ls -ld DIR
             
    and ensure that write permissions are disabled for group and other.
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure that Root's Path Does Not Include Relative Paths or Null Directories

    Ensure that none of the directories in root's path is equal to a single <code>.</code> character, or that it contains any instances that lead to relative path traversal, such as <code>..</code> or ...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Ensure that Users Have Sensible Umask Values

    The umask setting controls the default permissions for the creation of new files. With a default <code>umask</code> setting of 077, files and directories created by users will not be readable by an...
    Group
  • Sensible umask

    Enter default user umask
    Value
  • Ensure the Default Umask is Set Correctly in /etc/profile

    To ensure the default umask controlled by <code>/etc/profile</code> is set properly, add or correct the <code>umask</code> setting in <code>/etc/profile</code> to read as follows: <pre>umask <xccdf...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • System Accounting with auditd

    The audit service provides substantial capabilities for recording system activities. By default, the service audits about SELinux AVC denials and certain types of security-relevant events such as s...
    Group
  • Ensure the audit Subsystem is Installed

    The audit package should be installed.
    Rule Medium Severity
  • net.ipv4.conf.default.shared_media

    Controls whether the system can send(router) or accept(host) RFC1620 shared media redirects. <code>shared_media</code> for the interface will be enabled if at least one of conf/{all,interface}/shar...
    Value
  • Disable Support for IPv6 Unless Needed

    Despite configuration that suggests support for IPv6 has been disabled, link-local IPv6 address auto-configuration occurs even when only an IPv4 address is assigned. The only way to effectively pre...
    Group
  • GRUB2 bootloader configuration

    During the boot process, the boot loader is responsible for starting the execution of the kernel and passing options to it. The boot loader allows for the selection of different kernels - possibly ...
    Group
  • L1TF vulnerability mitigation

    Defines the L1TF vulneratility mitigations to employ.
    Value
  • Confidence level on Hardware Random Number Generator

    Defines the level of trust on the hardware random number generators available in the system and the percentage of entropy to credit.
    Value
  • Spec Store Bypass Mitigation

    This controls how the Speculative Store Bypass (SSB) vulnerability is mitigated.
    Value

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