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NIST National Checklist Program Security Guide

Rules and Groups employed by this XCCDF Profile

  • Disable Ctrl-Alt-Del Reboot Activation

    By default, <code>SystemD</code> will reboot the system if the <code>Ctrl-Alt-Del</code> key sequence is pressed. <br><br> To configure the system ...
    Rule High Severity
  • Verify that Interactive Boot is Disabled

    Oracle Linux 7 systems support an "interactive boot" option that can be used to prevent services from being started. On a Oracle Linux 7 system, in...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Require Authentication for Single User Mode

    Single-user mode is intended as a system recovery method, providing a single user root access to the system by providing a boot option at startup. ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure Screen Locking

    When a user must temporarily leave an account logged-in, screen locking should be employed to prevent passersby from abusing the account. User educ...
    Group
  • Configure Console Screen Locking

    A console screen locking mechanism is a temporary action taken when a user stops work and moves away from the immediate physical vicinity of the in...
    Group
  • Install the screen Package

    To enable console screen locking, install the <code>screen</code> package. The <code>screen</code> package can be installed with the following comm...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Hardware Tokens for Authentication

    The use of hardware tokens such as smart cards for system login provides stronger, two-factor authentication than using a username and password. I...
    Group
  • Install the opensc Package For Multifactor Authentication

    The opensc package can be installed with the following command:
    $ sudo yum install opensc
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Install the pcsc-lite package

    The pcsc-lite package can be installed with the following command:
    $ sudo yum install pcsc-lite
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Enable the pcscd Service

    The pcscd service can be enabled with the following command:
    $ sudo systemctl enable pcscd.service
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure opensc Smart Card Drivers

    The OpenSC smart card tool can auto-detect smart card drivers; however, setting the smart card drivers in use by your organization helps to prevent...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Configure NSS DB To Use opensc

    The <code>opensc</code> module should be configured for use over the <code>Coolkey PKCS#11</code> module in the NSS database. To configure the NSS ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Force opensc To Use Defined Smart Card Driver

    The OpenSC smart card middleware can auto-detect smart card drivers; however by forcing the smart card driver in use by your organization, opensc w...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Protect Accounts by Restricting Password-Based Login

    Conventionally, Unix shell accounts are accessed by providing a username and password to a login program, which tests these values for correctness ...
    Group
  • Set Account Expiration Parameters

    Accounts can be configured to be automatically disabled after a certain time period, meaning that they will require administrator interaction to be...
    Group
  • Set Account Expiration Following Inactivity

    To specify the number of days after a password expires (which signifies inactivity) until an account is permanently disabled, add or correct the fo...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Set Password Expiration Parameters

    The file <code>/etc/login.defs</code> controls several password-related settings. Programs such as <code>passwd</code>, <code>su</code>, and <code>...
    Group
  • Set Password Maximum Age

    To specify password maximum age for new accounts, edit the file <code>/etc/login.defs</code> and add or correct the following line: <pre>PASS_MAX_D...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Set Password Minimum Age

    To specify password minimum age for new accounts, edit the file <code>/etc/login.defs</code> and add or correct the following line: <pre>PASS_MIN_D...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Set Password Minimum Length in login.defs

    To specify password length requirements for new accounts, edit the file <code>/etc/login.defs</code> and add or correct the following line: <pre>PA...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Set Password Warning Age

    To specify how many days prior to password expiration that a warning will be issued to users, edit the file <code>/etc/login.defs</code> and add or...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Verify Proper Storage and Existence of Password Hashes

    By default, password hashes for local accounts are stored in the second field (colon-separated) in <code>/etc/shadow</code>. This file should be re...
    Group
  • Verify All Account Password Hashes are Shadowed

    If any password hashes are stored in <code>/etc/passwd</code> (in the second field, instead of an <code>x</code> or <code>*</code>), the cause of t...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • All GIDs referenced in /etc/passwd must be defined in /etc/group

    Add a group to the system for each GID referenced without a corresponding group.
    Rule Low Severity
  • Prevent Login to Accounts With Empty Password

    If an account is configured for password authentication but does not have an assigned password, it may be possible to log into the account without ...
    Rule High Severity
  • Restrict Root Logins

    Direct root logins should be allowed only for emergency use. In normal situations, the administrator should access the system via a unique unprivil...
    Group
  • Verify Only Root Has UID 0

    If any account other than root has a UID of 0, this misconfiguration should be investigated and the accounts other than root should be removed or h...
    Rule High Severity
  • Direct root Logins Not Allowed

    To further limit access to the <code>root</code> account, administrators can disable root logins at the console by editing the <code>/etc/securetty...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Restrict Serial Port Root Logins

    To restrict root logins on serial ports, ensure lines of this form do not appear in /etc/securetty:
    ttyS0
    ttyS1
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Restrict Virtual Console Root Logins

    To restrict root logins through the (deprecated) virtual console devices, ensure lines of this form do not appear in <code>/etc/securetty</code>: <...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Secure Session Configuration Files for Login Accounts

    When a user logs into a Unix account, the system configures the user's session by reading a number of files. Many of these files are located in the...
    Group
  • Ensure the Logon Failure Delay is Set Correctly in login.defs

    To ensure the logon failure delay controlled by <code>/etc/login.defs</code> is set properly, add or correct the <code>FAIL_DELAY</code> setting in...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Limit the Number of Concurrent Login Sessions Allowed Per User

    Limiting the number of allowed users and sessions per user can limit risks related to Denial of Service attacks. This addresses concurrent sessions...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Set Interactive Session Timeout

    Setting the <code>TMOUT</code> option in <code>/etc/profile</code> ensures that all user sessions will terminate based on inactivity. The value of ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure that Users Have Sensible Umask Values

    The umask setting controls the default permissions for the creation of new files. With a default <code>umask</code> setting of 077, files and direc...
    Group
  • Ensure the Default Bash Umask is Set Correctly

    To ensure the default umask for users of the Bash shell is set properly, add or correct the <code>umask</code> setting in <code>/etc/bashrc</code> ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure the Default C Shell Umask is Set Correctly

    To ensure the default umask for users of the C shell is set properly, add or correct the <code>umask</code> setting in <code>/etc/csh.cshrc</code> ...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure the Default Umask is Set Correctly in login.defs

    To ensure the default umask controlled by <code>/etc/login.defs</code> is set properly, add or correct the <code>UMASK</code> setting in <code>/etc...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure the Default Umask is Set Correctly in /etc/profile

    To ensure the default umask controlled by <code>/etc/profile</code> is set properly, add or correct the <code>umask</code> setting in <code>/etc/pr...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • System Accounting with auditd

    The audit service provides substantial capabilities for recording system activities. By default, the service audits about SELinux AVC denials and c...
    Group
  • Enable auditd Service

    The <code>auditd</code> service is an essential userspace component of the Linux Auditing System, as it is responsible for writing audit records to...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Enable Auditing for Processes Which Start Prior to the Audit Daemon

    To ensure all processes can be audited, even those which start prior to the audit daemon, add the argument <code>audit=1</code> to the default GRUB...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Extend Audit Backlog Limit for the Audit Daemon

    To improve the kernel capacity to queue all log events, even those which occurred prior to the audit daemon, add the argument <code>audit_backlog_l...
    Rule Low Severity
  • Configure auditd Rules for Comprehensive Auditing

    The <code>auditd</code> program can perform comprehensive monitoring of system activity. This section describes recommended configuration settings ...
    Group
  • Make the auditd Configuration Immutable

    If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to use the <code>augenrules</code> program to read audit rules during daemon startup (the default),...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Record Events that Modify the System's Mandatory Access Controls

    If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to use the <code>augenrules</code> program to read audit rules during daemon startup (the default),...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure auditd Collects Information on Exporting to Media (successful)

    At a minimum, the audit system should collect media exportation events for all users and root. If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to u...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Record Events that Modify the System's Network Environment

    If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to use the <code>augenrules</code> program to read audit rules during daemon startup (the default),...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Record Attempts to Alter Process and Session Initiation Information

    The audit system already collects process information for all users and root. If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to use the <code>auge...
    Rule Medium Severity
  • Ensure auditd Collects System Administrator Actions

    At a minimum, the audit system should collect administrator actions for all users and root. If the <code>auditd</code> daemon is configured to use ...
    Rule Medium Severity

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