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Ensure Message Of The Day Is Configured Properly

An XCCDF Rule

Description

To configure the system message of the day banner edit the /etc/motd file. Replace the default text with a message compliant with the local site policy. The message should not contain information about operating system version, release, kernel version or patch level. The recommended banner text can be tailored in the XCCDF Value xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_value_cis_banner_text:

Rationale

Warning messages inform users who are attempting to login to the system of their legal status regarding the system and must include the name of the organization that owns the system and any monitoring policies that are in place. Displaying OS and patch level information in login banners also has the side effect of providing detailed system information to attackers attempting to target specific exploits of a system. Authorized users can easily get this information by running the uname -a command once they have logged in.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_banner_etc_motd_cis
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Ansible

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - CCE-86145-0
  - banner_etc_motd_cis

Remediation - Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if rpm --quiet -q kernel; then

cis_banner_text='<xccdf-1.2:sub xmlns:xccdf-1.2="http://checklists.nist.gov/xccdf/1.2" idref="xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_value_cis_banner_text" use="legacy"/>'

echo "$cis_banner_text" > "/etc/motd"