Skip to content

Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Set httpd ServerSignature Directive to Off

    <code>ServerSignature Off</code> restricts <code>httpd</code> from displaying server version number on error pages. <br><br> Add or correct the fol...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Set httpd ServerTokens Directive to Prod

    <code>ServerTokens Prod</code> restricts information in page headers, returning only the word "Apache." <br><br> Add or correct the following direc...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Configure HTTPD-Served Web Content Securely

    Running <code>httpd</code> inside a <code>chroot</code> jail is designed to isolate the web server process to a small section of the filesystem, li...
    Group
  • Web Login Banner Verbiage

    Enter an appropriate login banner for your organization. Please note that new lines must be expressed by the '\n' character and special characters ...
    Value
  • Configure A Banner Page For Each Website

    Configure a login banner for each website when authentication is required for user access.
    Rule Low Severity
  • Each Web Content Directory Must Contain An index.html File

    Every <code>DocumentRoot</code> that is configured should have an <code>index.html</code> file that exists. Add an <code>index.html</code> file to ...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Disable Web Content Symbolic Links

    For each <code>&lt;Directory&gt;</code> instance, remove the following: <pre>FollowSymLinks</pre> If symbolic links are allowed, the following can ...
    Rule High Severity
  • Encrypt All File Uploads

    Use only secure encrypted logons and connections for uploading files to the web site.
    Rule High Severity
  • Disable Plaintext Authentication

    To prevent Dovecot from attempting plaintext authentication of clients, edit <code>/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-auth.conf</code> and add\or correct the f...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Remove .java And .jpp Files

    .java and .jpp files should not exist and should be removed from the web server.
    Rule Low Severity
  • The robots.txt Files Must Not Exist

    Remove any <code>robots.txt</code> files that may exist with any web content. Other methods must be employed if there is information on the web sit...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure Web Content Located on Separate partition

    The <code>DocumentRoot</code> directory is used for storing web content and data. Ensure that the <code>DocumentRoot</code> directory exists on a s...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Use Denial-of-Service Protection Modules

    Denial-of-service attacks are difficult to detect and prevent while maintaining acceptable access to authorized users. However, some traffic-shapin...
    Group
  • IMAP and POP3 Server

    Dovecot provides IMAP and POP3 services. It is not installed by default. The project page at <a href="http://www.dovecot.org">http://www.dovec...
    Group
  • Configure Dovecot if Necessary

    If the system will operate as an IMAP or POP3 server, the dovecot software should be configured securely by following the recommendations below.
    Group
  • Allow IMAP Clients to Access the Server

    The default iptables configuration does not allow inbound access to any services. This modification will allow remote hosts to initiate connection...
    Group
  • Enable SSL Support

    SSL should be used to encrypt network traffic between the Dovecot server and its clients. Users must authenticate to the Dovecot server in order ...
    Group
  • Configure Dovecot to Use the SSL Certificate file

    This option tells Dovecot where to find the mail server's SSL Certificate. <br><br> Edit <code>/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf</code> and add or co...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Configure Dovecot to Use the SSL Key file

    This option tells Dovecot where to find the mail server's SSL Key. <br><br> Edit <code>/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf</code> and add or correct th...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Enable the SSL flag in /etc/dovecot.conf

    To allow clients to make encrypted connections the <code>ssl</code> flag in Dovecot's configuration file needs to be set to <code>yes</code>. <br><...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Support Only the Necessary Protocols

    Dovecot supports the IMAP and POP3 protocols, as well as SSL-protected versions of those protocols. Configure the Dovecot server to support only ...
    Group
  • Disable Cyrus IMAP

    If the system does not need to operate as an IMAP or POP3 server, the Cyrus IMAP software should be removed.
    Group
  • Uninstall cyrus-imapd Package

    The cyrus-imapd package can be removed with the following command:
    $ sudo yum erase cyrus-imapd
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable Dovecot

    If the system does not need to operate as an IMAP or POP3 server, the dovecot software should be disabled and removed.
    Group
  • Uninstall dovecot Package

    The dovecot package can be removed with the following command:
    $ sudo yum erase dovecot
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable Dovecot Service

    The dovecot service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now dovecot.service
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Kerberos

    The Kerberos protocol is used for authentication across non-secure network. Authentication can happen between various types of principals -- users,...
    Group
  • Remove the Kerberos Server Package

    The <code>krb5-server</code> package should be removed if not in use. Is this system the Kerberos server? If not, remove the package. The <code>krb...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Disable Kerberos by removing host keytab

    Kerberos is not an approved key distribution method for Common Criteria. To prevent using Kerberos by system daemons, remove the Kerberos keytab fi...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • LDAP

    LDAP is a popular directory service, that is, a standardized way of looking up information from a central database. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 incl...
    Group
  • Configure OpenLDAP Clients

    This section provides information on which security settings are important to configure in OpenLDAP clients by manually editing the appropriate con...
    Group
  • Ensure LDAP client is not installed

    The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a service that provides a method for looking up information from a central database. The <code>...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Enable the LDAP Client For Use in Authconfig

    To determine if LDAP is being used for authentication, use the following command: <pre>$ sudo grep -i useldapauth /etc/sysconfig/authconfig</pre> <...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure LDAP Client to Use TLS For All Transactions

    This check verifies cryptography has been implemented to protect the integrity of remote LDAP authentication sessions. <br><br> To determine if LDA...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure Certificate Directives for LDAP Use of TLS

    Ensure a copy of a trusted CA certificate has been placed in the file <code>/etc/pki/tls/CA/cacert.pem</code>. Configure LDAP to enforce TLS use an...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure OpenLDAP Server

    This section details some security-relevant settings for an OpenLDAP server.
    Group
  • Uninstall openldap-servers Package

    The openldap-servers package is not installed by default on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system. It is needed only by the OpenLDAP server, not by t...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Disable LDAP Server (slapd)

    The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a service that provides a method for looking up information from a central database.
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Install and Protect LDAP Certificate Files

    Create the PKI directory for LDAP certificates if it does not already exist: <pre>$ sudo mkdir /etc/pki/tls/ldap $ sudo chown root:root /etc/pki/tl...
    Group
  • Mail Server Software

    Mail servers are used to send and receive email over the network. Mail is a very common service, and Mail Transfer Agents (MTAs) are obvious target...
    Group
  • The mailx Package Is Installed

    A mail server is required for sending emails. The <code>mailx</code> package can be installed with the following command: <pre> $ sudo yum install ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • The Postfix package is installed

    A mail server is required for sending emails. The <code>postfix</code> package can be installed with the following command: <pre> $ sudo yum instal...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Uninstall Sendmail Package

    Sendmail is not the default mail transfer agent and is not installed by default. The <code>sendmail</code> package can be removed with the followin...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Enable Postfix Service

    The Postfix mail transfer agent is used for local mail delivery within the system. The default configuration only listens for connections to the de...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Ensure Mail Transfer Agent is not Listening on any non-loopback Address

    Mail Transfer Agents (MTA), such as sendmail and Postfix, are used to listen for incoming mail and transfer the messages to the appropriate user or...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure SMTP For Mail Clients

    This section discusses settings for Postfix in a submission-only e-mail configuration.
    Group
  • Postfix Network Interfaces

    The setting for inet_interfaces in /etc/postfix/main.cf
    Value
  • Postfix relayhost

    Specify the host all outbound email should be routed into.
    Value
  • Postfix Root Mail Alias

    Specify an email address (string) for a root mail alias.
    Value
  • Configure System to Forward All Mail For The Root Account

    Make sure that mails delivered to root user are forwarded to a monitored email address. Make sure that the address <xccdf-1.2:sub idref="xccdf_org....
    Rule Medium Severity

The content of the drawer really is up to you. It could have form fields, definition lists, text lists, labels, charts, progress bars, etc. Spacing recommendation is 24px margins. You can put tabs in here, and can also make the drawer scrollable.

Capacity
Modules