Skip to content

Disable Core Dumps for All Users

An XCCDF Rule

Description

To disable core dumps for all users, add the following line to /etc/security/limits.conf, or to a file within the /etc/security/limits.d/ directory:

*     hard   core    0

Rationale

A core dump includes a memory image taken at the time the operating system terminates an application. The memory image could contain sensitive data and is generally useful only for developers trying to debug problems.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_disable_users_coredumps
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Ansible

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6
  - NIST-800-53-SC-7(10)

Remediation - Shell Script

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

SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE="/etc/security/limits.conf"

if grep -qE '^\s*\*\s+hard\s+core' $SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE; then