Guide to the Secure Configuration of Fedora

with profile Standard System Security Profile
This profile contains rules to ensure standard security baseline of a Fedora system. Regardless of your system's workload all of these checks should pass.

This guide presents a catalog of security-relevant configuration settings for Fedora operating system formatted in the eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format (XCCDF).

Providing system administrators with such guidance informs them how to securely configure systems under their control in a variety of network roles. Policy makers and baseline creators can use this catalog of settings, with its associated references to higher-level security control catalogs, in order to assist them in security baseline creation. This guide is a catalog, not a checklist, and satisfaction of every item is not likely to be possible or sensible in many operational scenarios. However, the XCCDF format enables granular selection and adjustment of settings, and their association with OVAL and OCIL content provides an automated checking capability. Transformations of this document, and its associated automated checking content, are capable of providing baselines that meet a diverse set of policy objectives. Some example XCCDF Profiles, which are selections of items that form checklists and can be used as baselines, are available with this guide. They can be processed, in an automated fashion, with tools that support the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP).
Do not attempt to implement any of the settings in this guide without first testing them in a non-operational environment. The creators of this guidance assume no responsibility whatsoever for its use by other parties, and makes no guarantees, expressed or implied, about its quality, reliability, or any other characteristic.
Profile TitleStandard System Security Profile
Profile IDxccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_standard

Revision History

Current version: 0.1.29

  • draft (as of 2016-05-05)

Platforms

  • cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:24
  • cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:23
  • cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:22

Table of Contents

  1. System Settings
    1. Installing and Maintaining Software
    2. File Permissions and Masks
    3. Account and Access Control

Checklist

contains 13 rules

System Settingsgroup

contains 13 rules

Installing and Maintaining Softwaregroup

The following sections contain information on security-relevant choices during the initial operating system installation process and the setup of software updates.

contains 3 rules

Updating Softwaregroup

The dnf command line tool is used to install and update software packages. The system also provides a graphical software update tool in the System menu, in the Administration submenu, called Software Update.

Fedora systems contain an installed software catalog called the RPM database, which records metadata of installed packages. Tools such as dnf or the graphical Software Update ensure usage of RPM packages for software installation. This allows for insight into the current inventory of installed software on the system, and is highly recommended.

contains 1 rule

gpgcheck Enabled In Main Dnf Configurationrule

The gpgcheck option should be used to ensure checking of an RPM package's signature always occurs prior to its installation. To configure dnf to check package signatures before installing them, ensure the following line appears in /etc/dnf/dnf.conf in the [main] section:

gpgcheck=1

Rationale:

Ensuring the validity of packages' cryptographic signatures prior to installation ensures the provenance of the software and protects against malicious tampering.

references:  SI-7, MA-1(b), 352, 663

Software Integrity Checkinggroup

Both the AIDE (Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment) software and the RPM package management system provide mechanisms for verifying the integrity of installed software. AIDE uses snapshots of file metadata (such as hashes) and compares these to current system files in order to detect changes. The RPM package management system can conduct integrity checks by comparing information in its metadata database with files installed on the system.

Integrity checking cannot prevent intrusions, but can detect that they have occurred. Requirements for software integrity checking may be highly dependent on the environment in which the system will be used. Snapshot-based approaches such as AIDE may induce considerable overhead in the presence of frequent software updates.

contains 2 rules

Verify Integrity with RPMgroup

The RPM package management system includes the ability to verify the integrity of installed packages by comparing the installed files with information about the files taken from the package metadata stored in the RPM database. Although an attacker could corrupt the RPM database (analogous to attacking the AIDE database as described above), this check can still reveal modification of important files. To list which files on the system differ from what is expected by the RPM database:

# rpm -qVa
See the man page for rpm to see a complete explanation of each column.

contains 2 rules

Verify and Correct File Permissions with RPMrule

The RPM package management system can check file access permissions of installed software packages, including many that are important to system security. After locating a file with incorrect permissions, run the following command to determine which package owns it:

# rpm -qf FILENAME
Next, run the following command to reset its permissions to the correct values:
# rpm --setperms PACKAGENAME

Rationale:

Permissions on system binaries and configuration files that are too generous could allow an unauthorized user to gain privileges that they should not have. The permissions set by the vendor should be maintained. Any deviations from this baseline should be investigated.

references:  AC-6, CM-6(d), CM-6(3), 1493, 1494, 1495

Verify File Hashes with RPMrule

The RPM package management system can check the hashes of installed software packages, including many that are important to system security. Run the following command to list which files on the system have hashes that differ from what is expected by the RPM database:

# rpm -Va | grep '^..5'
A "c" in the second column indicates that a file is a configuration file, which may appropriately be expected to change. If the file was not expected to change, investigate the cause of the change using audit logs or other means. The package can then be reinstalled to restore the file. Run the following command to determine which package owns the file:
# rpm -qf FILENAME
The package can be reinstalled from a dnf repository using the command:
dnf reinstall PACKAGENAME
Alternatively, the package can be reinstalled from trusted media using the command:
rpm -Uvh PACKAGENAME

Rationale:

The hashes of important files like system executables should match the information given by the RPM database. Executables with erroneous hashes could be a sign of nefarious activity on the system.

references:  CM-6(d), CM-6(3), SI-7, 1496

File Permissions and Masksgroup

Traditional Unix security relies heavily on file and directory permissions to prevent unauthorized users from reading or modifying files to which they should not have access.

contains 6 rules

Restrict Partition Mount Optionsgroup

System partitions can be mounted with certain options that limit what files on those partitions can do. These options are set in the /etc/fstab configuration file, and can be used to make certain types of malicious behavior more difficult.

contains 2 rules

Add nodev Option to /dev/shmrule

The nodev mount option can be used to prevent creation of device files in /dev/shm. Legitimate character and block devices should not exist within temporary directories like /dev/shm. Add the nodev option to the fourth column of /etc/fstab for the line which controls mounting of /dev/shm.

Rationale:

The only legitimate location for device files is the /dev directory located on the root partition. The only exception to this is chroot jails.

references:  CM-7, MP-2

Add nosuid Option to /dev/shmrule

The nosuid mount option can be used to prevent execution of setuid programs in /dev/shm. The SUID and SGID permissions should not be required in these world-writable directories. Add the nosuid option to the fourth column of /etc/fstab for the line which controls mounting of /dev/shm.

Rationale:

The presence of SUID and SGID executables should be tightly controlled. Users should not be able to execute SUID or SGID binaries from temporary storage partitions.

references:  CM-7, MP-2

Verify File Permissions Within Some Important Directoriesgroup

Some directories contain files whose confidentiality or integrity is notably important and may also be susceptible to misconfiguration over time, particularly if unpackaged software is installed. As such, an argument exists to verify that files' permissions within these directories remain configured correctly and restrictively.

contains 4 rules

Shared Library Files Have Restrictive Permissionsrule

System-wide shared library files, which are linked to executables during process load time or run time, are stored in the following directories by default:

/lib
/lib64
/usr/lib
/usr/lib64
Kernel modules, which can be added to the kernel during runtime, are stored in /lib/modules. All files in these directories should not be group-writable or world-writable. If any file in these directories is found to be group-writable or world-writable, correct its permission with the following command:
# chmod go-w FILE

Rationale:

Files from shared library directories are loaded into the address space of processes (including privileged ones) or of the kernel itself at runtime. Restrictive permissions are necessary to protect the integrity of the system.

references:  AC-6, 1499

Shared Library Files Have Root Ownershiprule

System-wide shared library files, which are linked to executables during process load time or run time, are stored in the following directories by default:

/lib
/lib64
/usr/lib
/usr/lib64
Kernel modules, which can be added to the kernel during runtime, are also stored in /lib/modules. All files in these directories should be owned by the root user. If the directory, or any file in these directories, is found to be owned by a user other than root correct its ownership with the following command:
# chown root FILE

Rationale:

Files from shared library directories are loaded into the address space of processes (including privileged ones) or of the kernel itself at runtime. Proper ownership is necessary to protect the integrity of the system.

references:  AC-6, 1499

System Executables Have Restrictive Permissionsrule

System executables are stored in the following directories by default:

/bin
/sbin
/usr/bin
/usr/libexec
/usr/local/bin
/usr/local/sbin
/usr/sbin
All files in these directories should not be group-writable or world-writable. If any file FILE in these directories is found to be group-writable or world-writable, correct its permission with the following command:
# chmod go-w FILE

Rationale:

System binaries are executed by privileged users, as well as system services, and restrictive permissions are necessary to ensure execution of these programs cannot be co-opted.

references:  AC-6, 1499

System Executables Have Root Ownershiprule

System executables are stored in the following directories by default:

/bin
/sbin
/usr/bin
/usr/libexec
/usr/local/bin
/usr/local/sbin
/usr/sbin
All files in these directories should be owned by the root user. If any file FILE in these directories is found to be owned by a user other than root, correct its ownership with the following command:
# chown root FILE

Rationale:

System binaries are executed by privileged users as well as system services, and restrictive permissions are necessary to ensure that their execution of these programs cannot be co-opted.

references:  AC-6, 1499

Account and Access Controlgroup

In traditional Unix security, if an attacker gains shell access to a certain login account, they can perform any action or access any file to which that account has access. Therefore, making it more difficult for unauthorized people to gain shell access to accounts, particularly to privileged accounts, is a necessary part of securing a system. This section introduces mechanisms for restricting access to accounts under Fedora.

contains 4 rules

Protect Accounts by Restricting Password-Based Logingroup

Conventionally, Unix shell accounts are accessed by providing a username and password to a login program, which tests these values for correctness using the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files. Password-based login is vulnerable to guessing of weak passwords, and to sniffing and man-in-the-middle attacks against passwords entered over a network or at an insecure console. Therefore, mechanisms for accessing accounts by entering usernames and passwords should be restricted to those which are operationally necessary.

contains 2 rules

Proper Storage and Existence of Password Hashesgroup

By default, password hashes for local accounts are stored in the second field (colon-separated) in /etc/shadow. This file should be readable only by processes running with root credentials, preventing users from casually accessing others' password hashes and attempting to crack them. However, it remains possible to misconfigure the system and store password hashes in world-readable files such as /etc/passwd, or to even store passwords themselves in plaintext on the system. Using system-provided tools for password change/creation should allow administrators to avoid such misconfiguration.

contains 2 rules

Log In to Accounts With Empty Password Impossiblerule

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 authentication. Remove any instances of the nullok option in /etc/pam.d/system-auth to prevent logins with empty passwords.

Rationale:

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

references:  IA-5(b), IA-5(c), IA-5(1)(a)

Password Hashes For Each Account Shadowedrule

If any password hashes are stored in /etc/passwd (in the second field, instead of an x), the cause of this misconfiguration should be investigated. The account should have its password reset and the hash should be properly stored, or the account should be deleted entirely.

Rationale:

The hashes for all user account passwords should be stored in the file /etc/shadow and never in /etc/passwd, which is readable by all users.

references:  IA-5(h), 201

Secure Session Configuration Files for Login Accountsgroup

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 user's home directory, and may have weak permissions as a result of user error or misconfiguration. If an attacker can modify or even read certain types of account configuration information, they can often gain full access to the affected user's account. Therefore, it is important to test and correct configuration file permissions for interactive accounts, particularly those of privileged users such as root or system administrators.

contains 2 rules

Ensure that No Dangerous Directories Exist in Root's Pathgroup

The active path of the root account can be obtained by starting a new root shell and running:

$ sudo echo $PATH
This will produce a colon-separated list of directories in the path.

Certain path elements could be considered dangerous, as they could lead to root executing unknown or untrusted programs, which could contain malicious code. Since root may sometimes work inside untrusted directories, the . character, which represents the current directory, should never be in the root path, nor should any directory which can be written to by an unprivileged or semi-privileged (system) user.

It is a good practice for administrators to always execute privileged commands by typing the full path to the command.

contains 2 rules

Ensure that Root's Path Does Not Include Relative Paths or Null Directoriesrule

Ensure that none of the directories in root's path is equal to a single . character, or that it contains any instances that lead to relative path traversal, such as .. or beginning a path without the slash (/) character. Also ensure that there are no "empty" elements in the path, such as in these examples:

PATH=:/bin
PATH=/bin:
PATH=/bin::/sbin
These empty elements have the same effect as a single . character.

Rationale:

Including these entries increases the risk that root could execute code from an untrusted location.

references:  CM-6(b), 366

Ensure that Root's Path Does Not Include World or Group-Writable Directoriesrule

For each element in root's path, run:

$ sudo ls -ld DIR
and ensure that write permissions are disabled for group and other.

Rationale:

Such entries increase the risk that root could execute code provided by unprivileged users, and potentially malicious code.

references:  CM-6(b), 366

Red Hat and Fedora are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.