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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Ubuntu 16.04

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Disable IPv6 Addressing on All IPv6 Interfaces

    To disable support for (<code>ipv6</code>) addressing on all interface add the following line to <code>/etc/sysctl.d/ipv6.conf</code> (or another file in <code>/etc/sysctl.d</code>): <pre>net.ipv6....
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable IPv6 Addressing on IPv6 Interfaces by Default

    To disable support for (<code>ipv6</code>) addressing on interfaces by default add the following line to <code>/etc/sysctl.d/ipv6.conf</code> (or another file in <code>/etc/sysctl.d</code>): <pre>n...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Kernel Parameters Which Affect Networking

    The sysctl utility is used to set parameters which affect the operation of the Linux kernel. Kernel parameters which affect networking and have security implications are described here.
    Group
  • Network Related Kernel Runtime Parameters for Hosts and Routers

    Certain kernel parameters should be set for systems which are acting as either hosts or routers to improve the system's ability defend against certain types of IPv4 protocol attacks.
    Group
  • net.ipv4.conf.default.arp_filter

    Controls whether the ARP filter is enabled or not. 1 - Allows you to have multiple network interfaces on the same subnet, and have the ARPs for each interface be answered based on whether or not t...
    Value
  • net.ipv4.conf.default.arp_ignore

    Control the response modes for ARP queries that resolve local target IP addresses: 0 - (default): reply for any local target IP address, configured on any interface 1 - reply only if the target IP...
    Value
  • net.ipv4.conf.all.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}/sh...
    Value
  • Configure Response Mode of ARP Requests for All IPv4 Interfaces

    To set the runtime status of the <code>net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_ignore</code> kernel parameter, run the following command: <pre>$ sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_ignore=<xccdf-1.2:sub idref="xccd...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Prevent Routing External Traffic to Local Loopback on All IPv4 Interfaces

    To set the runtime status of the <code>net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet</code> kernel parameter, run the following command: <pre>$ sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet=0</pre> To make su...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure Sending and Accepting Shared Media Redirects for All IPv4 Interfaces

    To set the runtime status of the <code>net.ipv4.conf.all.shared_media</code> kernel parameter, run the following command: <pre>$ sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.shared_media=<xccdf-1.2:sub idref="...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure Sending and Accepting Shared Media Redirects by Default

    To set the runtime status of the <code>net.ipv4.conf.default.shared_media</code> kernel parameter, run the following command: <pre>$ sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.default.shared_media=<xccdf-1.2:sub...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify ufw Enabled

    The ufw service can be enabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl enable ufw.service
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw)

    The Linux kernel in Ubuntu provides a packet filtering system called netfilter, and the traditional interface for manipulating netfilter are the iptables suite of commands. iptables provide a compl...
    Group
  • Uncommon Network Protocols

    The system includes support for several network protocols which are not commonly used. Although security vulnerabilities in kernel networking code are not frequently discovered, the consequences ca...
    Group
  • 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
  • Verify Permissions on Important Files and Directories

    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 verifie...
    Group
  • Ensure No World-Writable Files Exist

    It is generally a good idea to remove global (other) write access to a file when it is discovered. However, check with documentation for specific applications before making changes. Also, monitor f...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Enable Kernel Parameter to Enforce DAC on Symlinks

    To set the runtime status of the <code>fs.protected_symlinks</code> kernel parameter, run the following command: <pre>$ sudo sysctl -w fs.protected_symlinks=1</pre> To make sure that the setting is...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify Permissions on Files with Local Account Information and Credentials

    The default restrictive permissions for files which act as important security databases such as <code>passwd</code>, <code>shadow</code>, <code>group</code>, and <code>gshadow</code> files must be ...
    Group
  • Verify Group Who Owns Backup group File

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

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