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Guide to the Secure Configuration of OpenEmbedded

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • Disable named Service

    The named service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now named.service
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Isolate DNS from Other Services

    This section discusses mechanisms for preventing the DNS server from interfering with other services. This is done both to protect the remainder of...
    Group
  • Run DNS Software in a chroot Jail

    Install the <code>bind-chroot</code> package: <pre>$ sudo yum install bind-chroot</pre> Place a valid named.conf file inside the chroot jail: <pre>...
    Group
  • Run DNS Software on Dedicated Servers

    Since DNS is a high-risk service which must frequently be made available to the entire Internet, it is strongly recommended that no other services ...
    Group
  • Configure Firewalls to Protect the FTP Server

    By default, <code>iptables</code> blocks access to the ports used by the web server. To configure <code>iptables</code> to allow port 21 traffic,...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Restrict the Set of Users Allowed to Access FTP

    This section describes how to disable non-anonymous (password-based) FTP logins, or, if it is not possible to do this entirely due to legacy applic...
    Group
  • Limit Users Allowed FTP Access if Necessary

    If there is a mission-critical reason for users to access their accounts via the insecure FTP protocol, limit the set of users who are allowed this...
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Use vsftpd to Provide FTP Service if Necessary

    If your use-case requires FTP service, install and set-up vsftpd to provide it.
    Group
  • Web Server

    The web server is responsible for providing access to content via the HTTP protocol. Web servers represent a significant security risk because: <br...
    Group
  • Disable Apache if Possible

    If Apache was installed and activated, but the system does not need to act as a web server, then it should be disabled and removed from the system.
    Group
  • Disable httpd Service

    The httpd service can be disabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now httpd.service
    Rule Unknown Severity
  • Disable NGINX if Possible

    If NGINX was installed and activated, but the system does not need to act as a web server, then it should be removed from the system.
    Group
  • Install Apache if Necessary

    If <code>httpd</code> was not installed and activated, but the system needs to act as a web server, then it should be installed on the system. Foll...
    Group
  • Confirm Minimal Built-in Modules Installed

    The default <code>httpd</code> installation minimizes the number of modules that are compiled directly into the binary (<code>core prefork http_cor...
    Group
  • Secure Apache Configuration

    The <code>httpd</code> configuration file is <code>/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf</code>. Apply the recommendations in the remainder of this section to...
    Group
  • HTTPD Log Level

    The setting for LogLevel in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
    Value
  • Maximum KeepAlive Requests for HTTPD

    The setting for MaxKeepAliveRequests in httpd.conf
    Value
  • Run httpd in a chroot Jail if Practical

    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
  • Restrict File and Directory Access

    Minimize access to critical httpd files and directories.
    Group
  • Configure PERL Securely

    PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is an interpreted language optimized for scanning arbitrary text files, extracting information from...
    Group
  • Configure PHP Securely

    PHP is a widely-used and often misconfigured server-side scripting language. It should be used with caution, but configured appropriately when need...
    Group
  • Directory Restrictions

    The Directory tags in the web server configuration file allow finer grained access control for a specified directory. All web directories should be...
    Group
  • Minimize Web Server Loadable Modules

    A default installation of <code>httpd</code> includes a plethora of dynamically shared objects (DSO) that are loaded at run-time. Unlike the aforem...
    Group
  • httpd Core Modules

    These modules comprise a basic subset of modules that are likely needed for base <code>httpd</code> functionality; ensure they are not commented ou...
    Group
  • Minimize Modules for HTTP Basic Authentication

    The following modules are necessary if this web server will provide content that will be restricted by a password. <br><br> Authentication can be p...
    Group
  • 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
  • Minimize Configuration Files Included

    The <code>Include</code> directive directs <code>httpd</code> to load supplementary configuration files from a provided path. The default configura...
    Group
  • Minimize Various Optional Components

    The following modules perform very specific tasks, sometimes providing access to just a few additional directives. If such functionality is not req...
    Group
  • Use Appropriate Modules to Improve httpd's Security

    Among the modules available for <code>httpd</code> are several whose use may improve the security of the web server installation. This section reco...
    Group
  • Deploy mod_security

    The <code>security</code> module provides an application level firewall for <code>httpd</code>. Following its installation with the base ruleset, s...
    Group
  • Deploy mod_ssl

    Because HTTP is a plain text protocol, all traffic is susceptible to passive monitoring. If there is a need for confidentiality, SSL should be conf...
    Group
  • Restrict Web Server Information Leakage

    The <code>ServerTokens</code> and <code>ServerSignature</code> directives determine how much information the web server discloses about the configu...
    Group
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • LDAP

    LDAP is a popular directory service, that is, a standardized way of looking up information from a central database. OpenEmbedded includes software ...
    Group
  • 389 Directory Server

    389 Directory Server is a popular open-source LDAP server for Linux.
    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
  • Configure OpenLDAP Server

    This section details some security-relevant settings for an OpenLDAP server.
    Group
  • 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

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