Record Events When Executables Are Run As Another User

An XCCDF Rule

Description

Verify the system generates an audit record when actions are run as another user. sudo provides users with temporary elevated privileges to perform operations, either as the superuser or another user. If audit is using the "auditctl" tool to load the rules, run the following command:

$ sudo grep execve /etc/audit/audit.rules

If audit is using the "augenrules" tool to load the rules, run the following command:

$ sudo grep -r execve /etc/audit/rules.d

-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C euid!=uid -F auid!=unset -k user_emulation

-a always,exit -F arch=b64  S execve -C euid!=uid -F auid!=unset -k user_emulation

If both the "b32" and "b64" audit rules for "SUID" files are not defined, this is a finding.

warning alert: Warning

Note that these rules can be configured in a number of ways while still achieving the desired effect.

Rationale

Creating an audit log of users with temporary elevated privileges and the operation(s) they performed is essential to reporting. Administrators will want to correlate the events written to the audit trail with the records written to sudo's logfile to verify if unauthorized commands have been executed. Misuse of privileged functions, either intentionally or unintentionally by authorized users, or by unauthorized external entities that have compromised information system accounts, is a serious and ongoing concern and can have significant adverse impacts on organizations. Auditing the use of privileged functions is one way to detect such misuse and identify the risk from insider threats and the advanced persistent threat.

ID: xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
Severity: Medium
References: 4.1.3.2

CCE-86368-8
Updated: about 1 year ago

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ] && rpm --quiet -q audit; then

# First perform the remediation of the syscall rule
# Retrieve hardware architecture of the underlying system
[ "$(getconf LONG_BIT)" = "32" ] && RULE_ARCHS=("b32") || RULE_ARCHS=("b32" "b64")
for ARCH in "${RULE_ARCHS[@]}"
do
	ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS="-a always,exit -F arch=$ARCH"
	OTHER_FILTERS="-C euid!=uid"
	AUID_FILTERS="-F auid!=unset"
	SYSCALL="execve"
	KEY="user_emulation"
	SYSCALL_GROUPING=""
	# Perform the remediation for both possible tools: 'auditctl' and 'augenrules'
	unset syscall_a
unset syscall_grouping
unset syscall_string
unset syscall
unset file_to_edit
unset rule_to_edit
unset rule_syscalls_to_edit
unset other_string
unset auid_string
unset full_rule

# Load macro arguments into arrays
read -a syscall_a <<< $SYSCALL
read -a syscall_grouping <<< $SYSCALL_GROUPING

# Create a list of audit *.rules files that should be inspected for presence and correctness
# of a particular audit rule. The scheme is as follows:
#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#  Tool used to load audit rules | Rule already defined  |  Audit rules file to inspect    |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#        auditctl                |     Doesn't matter    |  /etc/audit/audit.rules         |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#        augenrules              |          Yes          |  /etc/audit/rules.d/*.rules     |
#        augenrules              |          No           |  /etc/audit/rules.d/$key.rules  |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
files_to_inspect=()

# If audit tool is 'augenrules', then check if the audit rule is defined
# If rule is defined, add '/etc/audit/rules.d/*.rules' to the list for inspection
# If rule isn't defined yet, add '/etc/audit/rules.d/$key.rules' to the list for inspection
default_file="/etc/audit/rules.d/$KEY.rules"
# As other_filters may include paths, lets use a different delimiter for it
# The "F" script expression tells sed to print the filenames where the expressions matched
readarray -t files_to_inspect < <(sed -s -n -e "/^$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS/!d" -e "\#$OTHER_FILTERS#!d" -e "/$AUID_FILTERS/!d" -e "F" /etc/audit/rules.d/*.rules)
# Case when particular rule isn't defined in /etc/audit/rules.d/*.rules yet
if [ ${#files_to_inspect[@]} -eq "0" ]
then
    file_to_inspect="/etc/audit/rules.d/$KEY.rules"
    files_to_inspect=("$file_to_inspect")
    if [ ! -e "$file_to_inspect" ]
    then
        touch "$file_to_inspect"
        chmod 0640 "$file_to_inspect"
    fi
fi

# After converting to jinja, we cannot return; therefore we skip the rest of the macro if needed instead
skip=1

for audit_file in "${files_to_inspect[@]}"
do
    # Filter existing $audit_file rules' definitions to select those that satisfy the rule pattern,
    # i.e, collect rules that match:
    # * the action, list and arch, (2-nd argument)
    # * the other filters, (3-rd argument)
    # * the auid filters, (4-rd argument)
    readarray -t similar_rules < <(sed -e "/^$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS/!d"  -e "\#$OTHER_FILTERS#!d" -e "/$AUID_FILTERS/!d" "$audit_file")

    candidate_rules=()
    # Filter out rules that have more fields then required. This will remove rules more specific than the required scope
    for s_rule in "${similar_rules[@]}"
    do
        # Strip all the options and fields we know of,
        # than check if there was any field left over
        extra_fields=$(sed -E -e "s/^$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS//"  -e "s#$OTHER_FILTERS##" -e "s/$AUID_FILTERS//" -e "s/((:?-S [[:alnum:],]+)+)//g" -e "s/-F key=\w+|-k \w+//"<<< "$s_rule")
        grep -q -- "-F" <<< "$extra_fields" || candidate_rules+=("$s_rule")
    done

    if [[ ${#syscall_a[@]} -ge 1 ]]
    then
        # Check if the syscall we want is present in any of the similar existing rules
        for rule in "${candidate_rules[@]}"
        do
            rule_syscalls=$(echo "$rule" | grep -o -P '(-S [\w,]+)+' | xargs)
            all_syscalls_found=0
            for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
            do
                grep -q -- "\b${syscall}\b" <<< "$rule_syscalls" || {
                   # A syscall was not found in the candidate rule
                   all_syscalls_found=1
                   }
            done
            if [[ $all_syscalls_found -eq 0 ]]
            then
                # We found a rule with all the syscall(s) we want; skip rest of macro
                skip=0
                break
            fi

            # Check if this rule can be grouped with our target syscall and keep track of it
            for syscall_g in "${syscall_grouping[@]}"
            do
                if grep -q -- "\b${syscall_g}\b" <<< "$rule_syscalls"
                then
                    file_to_edit=${audit_file}
                    rule_to_edit=${rule}
                    rule_syscalls_to_edit=${rule_syscalls}
                fi
            done
        done
    else
        # If there is any candidate rule, it is compliant; skip rest of macro
        if [ "${#candidate_rules[@]}" -gt 0 ]
        then
            skip=0
        fi
    fi

    if [ "$skip" -eq 0 ]; then
        break
    fi
done

if [ "$skip" -ne 0 ]; then
    # We checked all rules that matched the expected resemblance pattern (action, arch & auid)
    # At this point we know if we need to either append the $full_rule or group
    # the syscall together with an exsiting rule

    # Append the full_rule if it cannot be grouped to any other rule
    if [ -z ${rule_to_edit+x} ]
    then
        # Build full_rule while avoid adding double spaces when other_filters is empty
        if [ "${#syscall_a[@]}" -gt 0 ]
        then
            syscall_string=""
            for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
            do
                syscall_string+=" -S $syscall"
            done
        fi
        other_string=$([[ $OTHER_FILTERS ]] && echo " $OTHER_FILTERS") || /bin/true
        auid_string=$([[ $AUID_FILTERS ]] && echo " $AUID_FILTERS") || /bin/true
        full_rule="$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS${syscall_string}${other_string}${auid_string} -F key=$KEY" || /bin/true
        echo "$full_rule" >> "$default_file"
        chmod o-rwx ${default_file}
    else
        # Check if the syscalls are declared as a comma separated list or
        # as multiple -S parameters
        if grep -q -- "," <<< "${rule_syscalls_to_edit}"
        then
            delimiter=","
        else
            delimiter=" -S "
        fi
        new_grouped_syscalls="${rule_syscalls_to_edit}"
        for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
        do
            grep -q -- "\b${syscall}\b" <<< "${rule_syscalls_to_edit}" || {
               # A syscall was not found in the candidate rule
               new_grouped_syscalls+="${delimiter}${syscall}"
               }
        done

        # Group the syscall in the rule
        sed -i -e "\#${rule_to_edit}#s#${rule_syscalls_to_edit}#${new_grouped_syscalls}#" "$file_to_edit"
    fi
fi
	unset syscall_a
unset syscall_grouping
unset syscall_string
unset syscall
unset file_to_edit
unset rule_to_edit
unset rule_syscalls_to_edit
unset other_string
unset auid_string
unset full_rule

# Load macro arguments into arrays
read -a syscall_a <<< $SYSCALL
read -a syscall_grouping <<< $SYSCALL_GROUPING

# Create a list of audit *.rules files that should be inspected for presence and correctness
# of a particular audit rule. The scheme is as follows:
#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#  Tool used to load audit rules | Rule already defined  |  Audit rules file to inspect    |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#        auditctl                |     Doesn't matter    |  /etc/audit/audit.rules         |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#        augenrules              |          Yes          |  /etc/audit/rules.d/*.rules     |
#        augenrules              |          No           |  /etc/audit/rules.d/$key.rules  |
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
files_to_inspect=()


# If audit tool is 'auditctl', then add '/etc/audit/audit.rules'
# file to the list of files to be inspected
default_file="/etc/audit/audit.rules"
files_to_inspect+=('/etc/audit/audit.rules' )

# After converting to jinja, we cannot return; therefore we skip the rest of the macro if needed instead
skip=1

for audit_file in "${files_to_inspect[@]}"
do
    # Filter existing $audit_file rules' definitions to select those that satisfy the rule pattern,
    # i.e, collect rules that match:
    # * the action, list and arch, (2-nd argument)
    # * the other filters, (3-rd argument)
    # * the auid filters, (4-rd argument)
    readarray -t similar_rules < <(sed -e "/^$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS/!d"  -e "\#$OTHER_FILTERS#!d" -e "/$AUID_FILTERS/!d" "$audit_file")

    candidate_rules=()
    # Filter out rules that have more fields then required. This will remove rules more specific than the required scope
    for s_rule in "${similar_rules[@]}"
    do
        # Strip all the options and fields we know of,
        # than check if there was any field left over
        extra_fields=$(sed -E -e "s/^$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS//"  -e "s#$OTHER_FILTERS##" -e "s/$AUID_FILTERS//" -e "s/((:?-S [[:alnum:],]+)+)//g" -e "s/-F key=\w+|-k \w+//"<<< "$s_rule")
        grep -q -- "-F" <<< "$extra_fields" || candidate_rules+=("$s_rule")
    done

    if [[ ${#syscall_a[@]} -ge 1 ]]
    then
        # Check if the syscall we want is present in any of the similar existing rules
        for rule in "${candidate_rules[@]}"
        do
            rule_syscalls=$(echo "$rule" | grep -o -P '(-S [\w,]+)+' | xargs)
            all_syscalls_found=0
            for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
            do
                grep -q -- "\b${syscall}\b" <<< "$rule_syscalls" || {
                   # A syscall was not found in the candidate rule
                   all_syscalls_found=1
                   }
            done
            if [[ $all_syscalls_found -eq 0 ]]
            then
                # We found a rule with all the syscall(s) we want; skip rest of macro
                skip=0
                break
            fi

            # Check if this rule can be grouped with our target syscall and keep track of it
            for syscall_g in "${syscall_grouping[@]}"
            do
                if grep -q -- "\b${syscall_g}\b" <<< "$rule_syscalls"
                then
                    file_to_edit=${audit_file}
                    rule_to_edit=${rule}
                    rule_syscalls_to_edit=${rule_syscalls}
                fi
            done
        done
    else
        # If there is any candidate rule, it is compliant; skip rest of macro
        if [ "${#candidate_rules[@]}" -gt 0 ]
        then
            skip=0
        fi
    fi

    if [ "$skip" -eq 0 ]; then
        break
    fi
done

if [ "$skip" -ne 0 ]; then
    # We checked all rules that matched the expected resemblance pattern (action, arch & auid)
    # At this point we know if we need to either append the $full_rule or group
    # the syscall together with an exsiting rule

    # Append the full_rule if it cannot be grouped to any other rule
    if [ -z ${rule_to_edit+x} ]
    then
        # Build full_rule while avoid adding double spaces when other_filters is empty
        if [ "${#syscall_a[@]}" -gt 0 ]
        then
            syscall_string=""
            for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
            do
                syscall_string+=" -S $syscall"
            done
        fi
        other_string=$([[ $OTHER_FILTERS ]] && echo " $OTHER_FILTERS") || /bin/true
        auid_string=$([[ $AUID_FILTERS ]] && echo " $AUID_FILTERS") || /bin/true
        full_rule="$ACTION_ARCH_FILTERS${syscall_string}${other_string}${auid_string} -F key=$KEY" || /bin/true
        echo "$full_rule" >> "$default_file"
        chmod o-rwx ${default_file}
    else
        # Check if the syscalls are declared as a comma separated list or
        # as multiple -S parameters
        if grep -q -- "," <<< "${rule_syscalls_to_edit}"
        then
            delimiter=","
        else
            delimiter=" -S "
        fi
        new_grouped_syscalls="${rule_syscalls_to_edit}"
        for syscall in "${syscall_a[@]}"
        do
            grep -q -- "\b${syscall}\b" <<< "${rule_syscalls_to_edit}" || {
               # A syscall was not found in the candidate rule
               new_grouped_syscalls+="${delimiter}${syscall}"
               }
        done

        # Group the syscall in the rule
        sed -i -e "\#${rule_to_edit}#s#${rule_syscalls_to_edit}#${new_grouped_syscalls}#" "$file_to_edit"
    fi
fi
done

else
    >&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Service facts
  ansible.builtin.service_facts: null
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Check the rules script being used
  ansible.builtin.command: grep '^ExecStartPost' /usr/lib/systemd/system/auditd.service
  register: check_rules_scripts_result
  changed_when: false
  failed_when: false
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Set suid_audit_rules fact
  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
    suid_audit_rules:
    - rule: -a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C euid!=uid -F auid!=unset -k user_emulation
      regex: ^[\s]*-a[\s]+always,exit[\s]+-F[\s]+arch=b32[\s]+-C[\s]+euid!=uid[\s]+-F[\s]+auid!=unset[\s]+-S[\s]+execve[\s]+(?:-k[\s]+|-F[\s]+key=)[\S]+[\s]*$
    - rule: -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C euid!=uid -F auid!=unset -k user_emulation
      regex: ^[\s]*-a[\s]+always,exit[\s]+-F[\s]+arch=b64[\s]+-C[\s]+euid!=uid[\s]+-F[\s]+auid!=unset[\s]+-S[\s]+execve[\s]+(?:-k[\s]+|-F[\s]+key=)[\S]+[\s]*$
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Update /etc/audit/rules.d/user_emulation.rules to audit privileged functions
  ansible.builtin.lineinfile:
    path: /etc/audit/rules.d/user_emulation.rules
    line: '{{  item.rule  }}'
    regexp: '{{ item.regex }}'
    create: true
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  - '"auditd.service" in ansible_facts.services'
  - '"augenrules" in check_rules_scripts_result.stdout'
  register: augenrules_audit_rules_privilege_function_update_result
  with_items: '{{ suid_audit_rules }}'
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Update Update /etc/audit/audit.rules to audit privileged functions
  ansible.builtin.lineinfile:
    path: /etc/audit/audit.rules
    line: '{{  item.rule  }}'
    regexp: '{{ item.regex }}'
    create: true
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  - '"auditd.service" in ansible_facts.services'
  - '"auditctl" in check_rules_scripts_result.stdout'
  register: auditctl_audit_rules_privilege_function_update_result
  with_items: '{{ suid_audit_rules }}'
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Restart Auditd
  ansible.builtin.command: /usr/sbin/service auditd restart
  when:
  - '"audit" in ansible_facts.packages'
  - ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
  - (augenrules_audit_rules_privilege_function_update_result.changed or auditctl_audit_rules_privilege_function_update_result.changed)
  - ansible_facts.services["auditd.service"].state == "running"
  tags:
  - CCE-86368-8
  - audit_rules_suid_auid_privilege_function
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

Record Events When Executables Are Run As Another User

Description

Rationale

Remediation - Shell Script

Remediation - Ansible