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Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark

  • FTP Server

    FTP is a common method for allowing remote access to files. Like telnet, the FTP protocol is unencrypted, which means that passwords and other data...
    Group
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  • Remove ftp Package

    FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a traditional and widely used standard tool for transferring files between a server and clients over a network, esp...
    Rule Low Severity
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  • Disable vsftpd if Possible

    To minimize attack surface, disable vsftpd if at all possible.
    Group
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  • Uninstall vsftpd Package

    The vsftpd package can be removed with the following command: 
     $ sudo dnf erase vsftpd
    Rule High Severity
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  • Disable vsftpd Service

    The vsftpd service can be disabled with the following command: 
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now vsftpd.service
    Rule Medium Severity
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  • Configure vsftpd to Provide FTP Service if Necessary

    The primary vsftpd configuration file is /etc/vsftpd.conf, if that file exists, or /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf if it does not.
    Group
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  • 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
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  • 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...
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  • 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
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  • Use vsftpd to Provide FTP Service if Necessary

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

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

    The httpd service can be disabled with the following command: 
    $ sudo systemctl mask --now httpd.service
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • 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
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  • Uninstall nginx Package

    The nginx package can be removed with the following command: 
    $ sudo dnf erase nginx
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • HTTPD Log Level

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

    The setting for MaxKeepAliveRequests in httpd.conf
    Value
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  • Configure Operating System to Protect Web Server

    The following configuration steps should be taken on the system which hosts the web server, in order to provide as safe an environment as possible ...
    Group
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  • 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
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  • Restrict File and Directory Access

    Minimize access to critical httpd files and directories.
    Group
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  • Set Permissions on All Configuration Files Inside /etc/httpd/conf.d/

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/http/conf.d/*, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0640 /etc/http/conf.d/*
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • Set Permissions on All Configuration Files Inside /etc/httpd/conf/

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/http/conf/*, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0640 /etc/http/conf/*
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • Set Permissions on All Configuration Files Inside /etc/httpd/conf.modules.d/

    To properly set the permissions of /etc/http/conf.modules.d/*, run the command: 
    $ sudo chmod 0640 /etc/http/conf.modules.d/*
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • Configure PERL Securely

    PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is an interpreted language optimized for scanning arbitrary text files, extracting information from...
    Group
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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...
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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...
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • Uninstall cyrus-imapd Package

    The cyrus-imapd package can be removed with the following command: 
    $ sudo dnf erase cyrus-imapd
    Rule Unknown Severity
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  • Uninstall dovecot Package

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

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

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