Red Hat Enterprise Linux-7-Security Guide-en-US PDF

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Security Guide
A Guide to Securing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Last Updated: 2018-10-22

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Guide
A Guide to Securing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Mirek Jahoda
Red Hat Customer Content Services
[email protected]
Stephen Wadeley
Robert Krátký
Martin Prpič
Ioanna Gkioka
Tomáš Čapek
Yoana Ruseva
Miroslav Svoboda
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Abstract
This book assists users and administrators in learning the processes and practices of securing
workstations and servers against local and remote intrusion, exploitation, and malicious activity.
Focused on Red Hat Enterprise Linux but detailing concepts and techniques valid for all Linux
systems, this guide details the planning and the tools involved in creating a secured computing
environment for the data center, workplace, and home. With proper administrative knowledge,
vigilance, and tools, systems running Linux can be both fully functional and secured from most
common intrusion and exploit methods.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . .1.. .OVERVIEW
. . . . . . . . . .OF
. . .SECURITY
. . . . . . . . . .TOPICS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . . . . . . .
1.1. WHAT IS COMPUTER SECURITY? 4
1.2. SECURITY CONTROLS 5
1.3. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT 6
1.4. SECURITY THREATS 10
1.5. COMMON EXPLOITS AND ATTACKS 13
.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . .2.. .SECURITY
. . . . . . . . . TIPS
. . . . .FOR
. . . . INSTALLATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
...........
2.1. SECURING BIOS 16
2.2. PARTITIONING THE DISK 16
2.3. INSTALLING THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF PACKAGES REQUIRED 17
2.4. RESTRICTING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY DURING THE INSTALLATION PROCESS 17
2.5. POST-INSTALLATION PROCEDURES 18
2.6. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 18
.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . .3.. .KEEPING
. . . . . . . . YOUR
. . . . . . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . .UP-TO-DATE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
...........
3.1. MAINTAINING INSTALLED SOFTWARE 19
3.2. USING THE RED HAT CUSTOMER PORTAL 23
.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . .4.. .HARDENING
. . . . . . . . . . . YOUR
. . . . . .SYSTEM
. . . . . . . .WITH
. . . . .TOOLS
. . . . . . .AND
. . . . SERVICES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
...........
4.1. DESKTOP SECURITY 25
4.2. CONTROLLING ROOT ACCESS 34
4.3. SECURING SERVICES 41
4.4. SECURING NETWORK ACCESS 62
4.5. SECURING DNS TRAFFIC WITH DNSSEC 70
4.6. SECURING VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS (VPNS) USING LIBRESWAN 79
4.7. USING OPENSSL 92
4.8. USING STUNNEL 98
4.9. ENCRYPTION 100
4.10. CONFIGURING AUTOMATED UNLOCKING OF ENCRYPTED VOLUMES USING POLICY-BASED
DECRYPTION 116
4.11. CHECKING INTEGRITY WITH AIDE 127
4.12. USING USBGUARD 128
4.13. HARDENING TLS CONFIGURATION 133
4.14. USING SHARED SYSTEM CERTIFICATES 141
4.15. USING MACSEC 143
4.16. REMOVING DATA SECURELY USING SCRUB 144
. . . . . . . . . .5.. .USING
CHAPTER . . . . . .FIREWALLS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
............
5.1. GETTING STARTED WITH FIREWALLD 146
5.2. INSTALLING THE FIREWALL-CONFIG GUI CONFIGURATION TOOL 149
5.3. VIEWING THE CURRENT STATUS AND SETTINGS OF FIREWALLD 149
5.4. STARTING FIREWALLD 152
5.5. STOPPING FIREWALLD 153
5.6. CONTROLLING TRAFFIC 153
5.7. WORKING WITH ZONES 157
5.8. USING ZONES TO MANAGE INCOMING TRAFFIC DEPENDING ON SOURCE 160
5.9. PORT FORWARDING 162
5.10. CONFIGURING IP ADDRESS MASQUERADING 164
5.11. MANAGING ICMP REQUESTS 164
5.12. SETTING AND CONTROLLING IP SETS USING FIREWALLD 167
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5.13. SETTING AND CONTROLLING IP SETS USING IPTABLES 170

5.14. USING THE DIRECT INTERFACE 171
5.15. CONFIGURING COMPLEX FIREWALL RULES WITH THE "RICH LANGUAGE" SYNTAX 172
5.16. CONFIGURING FIREWALL LOCKDOWN 177
5.17. CONFIGURING LOGGING FOR DENIED PACKETS 180
.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . .6.. .SYSTEM
. . . . . . . .AUDITING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
............
Use Cases 182
6.1. AUDIT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE 183
6.2. INSTALLING THE AUDIT PACKAGES 184
6.3. CONFIGURING THE AUDIT SERVICE 184
6.4. STARTING THE AUDIT SERVICE 186
6.5. DEFINING AUDIT RULES 187
6.6. UNDERSTANDING AUDIT LOG FILES 193
6.7. SEARCHING THE AUDIT LOG FILES 198
6.8. CREATING AUDIT REPORTS 199
. . . . . . . . . .7.. .COMPLIANCE
CHAPTER . . . . . . . . . . . . AND
. . . . .VULNERABILITY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SCANNING
. . . . . . . . . .WITH
. . . . .OPENSCAP
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
............
7.1. SECURITY COMPLIANCE IN RED HAT ENTERPRISE LINUX 202
7.2. DEFINING COMPLIANCE POLICY 202
7.3. USING SCAP WORKBENCH 210
7.4. USING OSCAP 217
7.5. USING OPENSCAP WITH DOCKER 225
7.6. USING OPENSCAP WITH THE ATOMIC SCAN COMMAND 227
7.7. USING OPENSCAP WITH ANSIBLE 232
7.8. USING OPENSCAP WITH RED HAT SATELLITE 233
7.9. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES 234
. . . . . . . . . .8.. .FEDERAL
CHAPTER . . . . . . . . .STANDARDS
. . . . . . . . . . . .AND
. . . .REGULATIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
............
8.1. FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARD (FIPS) 237
8.2. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING MANUAL (NISPOM) 239
8.3. PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY DATA SECURITY STANDARD (PCI DSS) 239
8.4. SECURITY TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE 239
.APPENDIX
. . . . . . . . . A.
. . .ENCRYPTION
. . . . . . . . . . . .STANDARDS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
............
A.1. SYNCHRONOUS ENCRYPTION 240
A.2. PUBLIC-KEY ENCRYPTION 240
. . . . . . . . . . B.
APPENDIX . . .AUDIT
. . . . . .SYSTEM
. . . . . . . REFERENCE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
............
B.1. AUDIT EVENT FIELDS 244
B.2. AUDIT RECORD TYPES 249
. . . . . . . . . . C.
APPENDIX . . .REVISION
. . . . . . . . .HISTORY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
............
2
Table of Contents
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CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW OF SECURITY TOPICS

Due to the increased reliance on powerful, networked computers to help run businesses and keep track
of our personal information, entire industries have been formed around the practice of network and
computer security. Enterprises have solicited the knowledge and skills of security experts to properly
audit systems and tailor solutions to fit the operating requirements of their organization. Because most
organizations are increasingly dynamic in nature, their workers are accessing critical company IT
resources locally and remotely, hence the need for secure computing environments has become more
pronounced.
Unfortunately, many organizations (as well as individual users) regard security as more of an
afterthought, a process that is overlooked in favor of increased power, productivity, convenience, ease of
use, and budgetary concerns. Proper security implementation is often enacted postmortem — after an
unauthorized intrusion has already occurred. Taking the correct measures prior to connecting a site to an
untrusted network, such as the Internet, is an effective means of thwarting many attempts at intrusion.
NOTE
This document makes several references to files in the /lib directory. When using 64-bit
systems, some of the files mentioned may instead be located in /lib64.
1.1. WHAT IS COMPUTER SECURITY?

Computer security is a general term that covers a wide area of computing and information processing.
Industries that depend on computer systems and networks to conduct daily business transactions and
access critical information regard their data as an important part of their overall assets. Several terms
and metrics have entered our daily business vocabulary, such as total cost of ownership (TCO), return
on investment (ROI), and quality of service (QoS). Using these metrics, industries can calculate aspects
such as data integrity and high-availability (HA) as part of their planning and process management costs.
In some industries, such as electronic commerce, the availability and trustworthiness of data can mean
the difference between success and failure.
1.1.1. Standardizing Security

Enterprises in every industry rely on regulations and rules that are set by standards-making bodies such
as the American Medical Association (AMA) or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE). The same ideals hold true for information security. Many security consultants and vendors agree
upon the standard security model known as CIA, or Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. This three-
tiered model is a generally accepted component to assessing risks of sensitive information and
establishing security policy. The following describes the CIA model in further detail:
Confidentiality — Sensitive information must be available only to a set of pre-defined individuals.

Unauthorized transmission and usage of information should be restricted. For example,
confidentiality of information ensures that a customer's personal or financial information is not
obtained by an unauthorized individual for malicious purposes such as identity theft or credit
fraud.
Integrity — Information should not be altered in ways that render it incomplete or incorrect.
Unauthorized users should be restricted from the ability to modify or destroy sensitive
information.
Availability — Information should be accessible to authorized users any time that it is needed.
Availability is a warranty that information can be obtained with an agreed-upon frequency and
timeliness. This is often measured in terms of percentages and agreed to formally in Service
4
Level Agreements (SLAs) used by network service providers and their enterprise clients.
1.1.2. Cryptographic Software and Certifications

The following Red Hat Knowledgebase article provides an overview of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux core
crypto components, documenting which are they, how are they selected, how are they integrated into the
operating system, how do they support hardware security modules and smart cards, and how do crypto
certifications apply to them.
RHEL7 Core Crypto Components
1.2. SECURITY CONTROLS

Computer security is often divided into three distinct master categories, commonly referred to as
controls:
Physical
Technical
Administrative
These three broad categories define the main objectives of proper security implementation. Within these
controls are sub-categories that further detail the controls and how to implement them.
1.2.1. Physical Controls

Physical control is the implementation of security measures in a defined structure used to deter or
prevent unauthorized access to sensitive material. Examples of physical controls are:
Closed-circuit surveillance cameras
Motion or thermal alarm systems
Security guards
Picture IDs
Locked and dead-bolted steel doors
Biometrics (includes fingerprint, voice, face, iris, handwriting, and other automated methods
used to recognize individuals)
1.2.2. Technical Controls

Technical controls use technology as a basis for controlling the access and usage of sensitive data
throughout a physical structure and over a network. Technical controls are far-reaching in scope and
encompass such technologies as:
Encryption
Smart cards
Network authentication
Access control lists (ACLs)
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File integrity auditing software
1.2.3. Administrative Controls

Administrative controls define the human factors of security. They involve all levels of personnel within an
organization and determine which users have access to what resources and information by such means
as:
Training and awareness
Disaster preparedness and recovery plans
Personnel recruitment and separation strategies
Personnel registration and accounting
1.3. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

Given time, resources, and motivation, an attacker can break into nearly any system. All of the security
procedures and technologies currently available cannot guarantee that any systems are completely safe
from intrusion. Routers help secure gateways to the Internet. Firewalls help secure the edge of the
network. Virtual Private Networks safely pass data in an encrypted stream. Intrusion detection systems
warn you of malicious activity. However, the success of each of these technologies is dependent upon a
number of variables, including:
The expertise of the staff responsible for configuring, monitoring, and maintaining the
technologies.
The ability to patch and update services and kernels quickly and efficiently.
The ability of those responsible to keep constant vigilance over the network.
Given the dynamic state of data systems and technologies, securing corporate resources can be quite
complex. Due to this complexity, it is often difficult to find expert resources for all of your systems. While
it is possible to have personnel knowledgeable in many areas of information security at a high level, it is
difficult to retain staff who are experts in more than a few subject areas. This is mainly because each
subject area of information security requires constant attention and focus. Information security does not
stand still.
A vulnerability assessment is an internal audit of your network and system security; the results of which
indicate the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your network (as explained in Section 1.1.1,
“Standardizing Security”). Typically, vulnerability assessment starts with a reconnaissance phase, during
which important data regarding the target systems and resources is gathered. This phase leads to the
system readiness phase, whereby the target is essentially checked for all known vulnerabilities. The
readiness phase culminates in the reporting phase, where the findings are classified into categories of
high, medium, and low risk; and methods for improving the security (or mitigating the risk of vulnerability)
of the target are discussed
If you were to perform a vulnerability assessment of your home, you would likely check each door to your
home to see if they are closed and locked. You would also check every window, making sure that they
closed completely and latch correctly. This same concept applies to systems, networks, and electronic
data. Malicious users are the thieves and vandals of your data. Focus on their tools, mentality, and
motivations, and you can then react swiftly to their actions.
1.3.1. Defining Assessment and Testing
6
Vulnerability assessments may be broken down into one of two types: outside looking in and inside
looking around.
When performing an outside-looking-in vulnerability assessment, you are attempting to compromise your
systems from the outside. Being external to your company provides you with the cracker's viewpoint.
You see what a cracker sees — publicly-routable IP addresses, systems on your DMZ, external
interfaces of your firewall, and more. DMZ stands for "demilitarized zone", which corresponds to a
computer or small subnetwork that sits between a trusted internal network, such as a corporate private
LAN, and an untrusted external network, such as the public Internet. Typically, the DMZ contains devices
accessible to Internet traffic, such as Web (HTTP) servers, FTP servers, SMTP (e-mail) servers and
DNS servers.
When you perform an inside-looking-around vulnerability assessment, you are at an advantage since
you are internal and your status is elevated to trusted. This is the viewpoint you and your co-workers
have once logged on to your systems. You see print servers, file servers, databases, and other
resources.
There are striking distinctions between the two types of vulnerability assessments. Being internal to your
company gives you more privileges than an outsider. In most organizations, security is configured to
keep intruders out. Very little is done to secure the internals of the organization (such as departmental
firewalls, user-level access controls, and authentication procedures for internal resources). Typically,
there are many more resources when looking around inside as most systems are internal to a company.
Once you are outside the company, your status is untrusted. The systems and resources available to you
externally are usually very limited.
Consider the difference between vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. Think of a vulnerability
assessment as the first step to a penetration test. The information gleaned from the assessment is used
for testing. Whereas the assessment is undertaken to check for holes and potential vulnerabilities, the
penetration testing actually attempts to exploit the findings.
Assessing network infrastructure is a dynamic process. Security, both information and physical, is
dynamic. Performing an assessment shows an overview, which can turn up false positives and false
negatives. A false positive is a result, where the tool finds vulnerabilities which in reality do not exist. A
false negative is when it omits actual vulnerabilities.
Security administrators are only as good as the tools they use and the knowledge they retain. Take any
of the assessment tools currently available, run them against your system, and it is almost a guarantee
that there are some false positives. Whether by program fault or user error, the result is the same. The
tool may find false positives, or, even worse, false negatives.
Now that the difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test is defined, take the
findings of the assessment and review them carefully before conducting a penetration test as part of your
new best practices approach.

WARNING
Do not attempt to exploit vulnerabilities on production systems. Doing so can have

adverse effects on productivity and efficiency of your systems and network.
The following list examines some of the benefits to performing vulnerability assessments.
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Creates proactive focus on information security.
Finds potential exploits before crackers find them.
Results in systems being kept up to date and patched.
Promotes growth and aids in developing staff expertise.
Abates financial loss and negative publicity.
1.3.2. Establishing a Methodology for Vulnerability Assessment

To aid in the selection of tools for a vulnerability assessment, it is helpful to establish a vulnerability
assessment methodology. Unfortunately, there is no predefined or industry approved methodology at this
time; however, common sense and best practices can act as a sufficient guide.
What is the target? Are we looking at one server, or are we looking at our entire network and everything
within the network? Are we external or internal to the company? The answers to these questions are
important as they help determine not only which tools to select but also the manner in which they are
used.
To learn more about establishing methodologies, see the following website:
https://www.owasp.org/ — The Open Web Application Security Project
1.3.3. Vulnerability Assessment Tools

An assessment can start by using some form of an information-gathering tool. When assessing the
entire network, map the layout first to find the hosts that are running. Once located, examine each host
individually. Focusing on these hosts requires another set of tools. Knowing which tools to use may be
the most crucial step in finding vulnerabilities.
Just as in any aspect of everyday life, there are many different tools that perform the same job. This
concept applies to performing vulnerability assessments as well. There are tools specific to operating
systems, applications, and even networks (based on the protocols used). Some tools are free; others are
not. Some tools are intuitive and easy to use, while others are cryptic and poorly documented but have
features that other tools do not.
Finding the right tools may be a daunting task and, in the end, experience counts. If possible, set up a
test lab and try out as many tools as you can, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each. Review the
README file or man page for the tools. Additionally, look to the Internet for more information, such as
articles, step-by-step guides, or even mailing lists specific to the tools.
The tools discussed below are just a small sampling of the available tools.
1.3.3.1. Scanning Hosts with Nmap
Nmap is a popular tool that can be used to determine the layout of a network. Nmap has been available
for many years and is probably the most often used tool when gathering information. An excellent manual
page is included that provides detailed descriptions of its options and usage. Administrators can use
Nmap on a network to find host systems and open ports on those systems.
Nmap is a competent first step in vulnerability assessment. You can map out all the hosts within your
network and even pass an option that allows Nmap to attempt to identify the operating system running
on a particular host. Nmap is a good foundation for establishing a policy of using secure services and
restricting unused services.
8
To install Nmap, run the yum install nmap command as the root user.
1.3.3.1.1. Using Nmap
Nmap can be run from a shell prompt by typing the nmap command followed by the host name or IP
address of the machine to scan:
nmap <hostname>
For example, to scan a machine with host name foo.example.com, type the following at a shell
prompt:
~]$ nmap foo.example.com
The results of a basic scan (which could take up to a few minutes, depending on where the host is
located and other network conditions) look similar to the following:
Interesting ports on foo.example.com:

Not shown: 1710 filtered ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
22/tcp open ssh
53/tcp open domain
80/tcp open http
113/tcp closed auth
Nmap tests the most common network communication ports for listening or waiting services. This
knowledge can be helpful to an administrator who wants to close unnecessary or unused services.
For more information about using Nmap, see the official homepage at the following URL:
http://www.insecure.org/
1.3.3.2. Nessus
Nessus is a full-service security scanner. The plug-in architecture of Nessus allows users to customize
it for their systems and networks. As with any scanner, Nessus is only as good as the signature
database it relies upon. Fortunately, Nessus is frequently updated and features full reporting, host
scanning, and real-time vulnerability searches. Remember that there could be false positives and false
negatives, even in a tool as powerful and as frequently updated as Nessus.
NOTE
The Nessus client and server software requires a subscription to use. It has been
included in this document as a reference to users who may be interested in using this
popular application.
For more information about Nessus, see the official website at the following URL:
http://www.nessus.org/
1.3.3.3. OpenVAS
OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment System) is a set of tools and services that can be used to
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scan for vulnerabilities and for a comprehensive vulnerability management. The OpenVAS framework
offers a number of web-based, desktop, and command line tools for controlling the various components
of the solution. The core functionality of OpenVAS is provided by a security scanner, which makes use of
over 33 thousand daily-updated Network Vulnerability Tests (NVT). Unlike Nessus (see Section 1.3.3.2,
“Nessus”), OpenVAS does not require any subscription.
For more information about OpenVAS, see the official website at the following URL:
http://www.openvas.org/
1.3.3.4. Nikto
Nikto is an excellent common gateway interface (CGI) script scanner. Nikto not only checks for CGI
vulnerabilities but does so in an evasive manner, so as to elude intrusion-detection systems. It comes
with thorough documentation which should be carefully reviewed prior to running the program. If you
have web servers serving CGI scripts, Nikto can be an excellent resource for checking the security of
these servers.
More information about Nikto can be found at the following URL:
http://cirt.net/nikto2
1.4. SECURITY THREATS
1.4.1. Threats to Network Security

Bad practices when configuring the following aspects of a network can increase the risk of an attack.
Insecure Architectures
A misconfigured network is a primary entry point for unauthorized users. Leaving a trust-based, open
local network vulnerable to the highly-insecure Internet is much like leaving a door ajar in a crime-ridden
neighborhood — nothing may happen for an arbitrary amount of time, but someone exploits the
opportunity eventually.
Broadcast Networks
System administrators often fail to realize the importance of networking hardware in their security
schemes. Simple hardware, such as hubs and routers, relies on the broadcast or non-switched principle;
that is, whenever a node transmits data across the network to a recipient node, the hub or router sends a
broadcast of the data packets until the recipient node receives and processes the data. This method is
the most vulnerable to address resolution protocol (ARP) or media access control (MAC) address
spoofing by both outside intruders and unauthorized users on local hosts.
Centralized Servers
Another potential networking pitfall is the use of centralized computing. A common cost-cutting measure
for many businesses is to consolidate all services to a single powerful machine. This can be convenient
as it is easier to manage and costs considerably less than multiple-server configurations. However, a
centralized server introduces a single point of failure on the network. If the central server is
compromised, it may render the network completely useless or worse, prone to data manipulation or
theft. In these situations, a central server becomes an open door that allows access to the entire
network.
1.4.2. Threats to Server Security
10
Server security is as important as network security because servers often hold a great deal of an
organization's vital information. If a server is compromised, all of its contents may become available for
the cracker to steal or manipulate at will. The following sections detail some of the main issues.
Unused Services and Open Ports

A full installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 contains more than 1000 application and library
packages. However, most server administrators do not opt to install every single package in the
distribution, preferring instead to install a base installation of packages, including several server
applications. See Section 2.3, “Installing the Minimum Amount of Packages Required” for an explanation
of the reasons to limit the number of installed packages and for additional resources.
A common occurrence among system administrators is to install the operating system without paying
attention to what programs are actually being installed. This can be problematic because unneeded
services may be installed, configured with the default settings, and possibly turned on. This can cause
unwanted services, such as Telnet, DHCP, or DNS, to run on a server or workstation without the
administrator realizing it, which in turn can cause unwanted traffic to the server or even a potential
pathway into the system for crackers. See Section 4.3, “Securing Services” for information on closing
ports and disabling unused services.
Unpatched Services
Most server applications that are included in a default installation are solid, thoroughly tested pieces of
software. Having been in use in production environments for many years, their code has been thoroughly
refined and many of the bugs have been found and fixed.
However, there is no such thing as perfect software and there is always room for further refinement.
Moreover, newer software is often not as rigorously tested as one might expect, because of its recent
arrival to production environments or because it may not be as popular as other server software.
Developers and system administrators often find exploitable bugs in server applications and publish the
information on bug tracking and security-related websites such as the Bugtraq mailing list
(http://www.securityfocus.com) or the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) website
(http://www.cert.org). Although these mechanisms are an effective way of alerting the community to
security vulnerabilities, it is up to system administrators to patch their systems promptly. This is
particularly true because crackers have access to these same vulnerability tracking services and will use
the information to crack unpatched systems whenever they can. Good system administration requires
vigilance, constant bug tracking, and proper system maintenance to ensure a more secure computing
environment.
See Chapter 3, Keeping Your System Up-to-Date for more information about keeping a system up-to-
date.
Inattentive Administration
Administrators who fail to patch their systems are one of the greatest threats to server security.
According to the SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security Institute (SANS), the primary cause of computer
security vulnerability is "assigning untrained people to maintain security and providing neither the training
nor the time to make it possible to learn and do the job."[1] This applies as much to inexperienced
administrators as it does to overconfident or amotivated administrators.
Some administrators fail to patch their servers and workstations, while others fail to watch log messages
from the system kernel or network traffic. Another common error is when default passwords or keys to
services are left unchanged. For example, some databases have default administration passwords
because the database developers assume that the system administrator changes these passwords
immediately after installation. If a database administrator fails to change this password, even an
inexperienced cracker can use a widely-known default password to gain administrative privileges to the
database. These are only a few examples of how inattentive administration can lead to compromised
servers.
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Security Guide
Inherently Insecure Services

Even the most vigilant organization can fall victim to vulnerabilities if the network services they choose
are inherently insecure. For instance, there are many services developed under the assumption that they
are used over trusted networks; however, this assumption fails as soon as the service becomes
available over the Internet — which is itself inherently untrusted.
One category of insecure network services are those that require unencrypted usernames and
passwords for authentication. Telnet and FTP are two such services. If packet sniffing software is
monitoring traffic between the remote user and such a service usernames and passwords can be easily
intercepted.
Inherently, such services can also more easily fall prey to what the security industry terms the man-in-
the-middle attack. In this type of attack, a cracker redirects network traffic by tricking a cracked name
server on the network to point to his machine instead of the intended server. Once someone opens a
remote session to the server, the attacker's machine acts as an invisible conduit, sitting quietly between
the remote service and the unsuspecting user capturing information. In this way a cracker can gather
administrative passwords and raw data without the server or the user realizing it.
Another category of insecure services include network file systems and information services such as
NFS or NIS, which are developed explicitly for LAN usage but are, unfortunately, extended to include
WANs (for remote users). NFS does not, by default, have any authentication or security mechanisms
configured to prevent a cracker from mounting the NFS share and accessing anything contained therein.
NIS, as well, has vital information that must be known by every computer on a network, including
passwords and file permissions, within a plain text ASCII or DBM (ASCII-derived) database. A cracker
who gains access to this database can then access every user account on a network, including the
administrator's account.
By default, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is released with all such services turned off. However, since
administrators often find themselves forced to use these services, careful configuration is critical. See
Section 4.3, “Securing Services” for more information about setting up services in a safe manner.
1.4.3. Threats to Workstation and Home PC Security

Workstations and home PCs may not be as prone to attack as networks or servers, but since they often
contain sensitive data, such as credit card information, they are targeted by system crackers.
Workstations can also be co-opted without the user's knowledge and used by attackers as "slave"
machines in coordinated attacks. For these reasons, knowing the vulnerabilities of a workstation can
save users the headache of reinstalling the operating system, or worse, recovering from data theft.
Bad Passwords
Bad passwords are one of the easiest ways for an attacker to gain access to a system. For more on how
to avoid common pitfalls when creating a password, see Section 4.1.1, “Password Security”.
Vulnerable Client Applications

Although an administrator may have a fully secure and patched server, that does not mean remote users
are secure when accessing it. For instance, if the server offers Telnet or FTP services over a public
network, an attacker can capture the plain text usernames and passwords as they pass over the
network, and then use the account information to access the remote user's workstation.
Even when using secure protocols, such as SSH, a remote user may be vulnerable to certain attacks if
they do not keep their client applications updated. For instance, v.1 SSH clients are vulnerable to an X-
forwarding attack from malicious SSH servers. Once connected to the server, the attacker can quietly
capture any keystrokes and mouse clicks made by the client over the network. This problem was fixed in
the v.2 SSH protocol, but it is up to the user to keep track of what applications have such vulnerabilities
and update them as necessary.
12
Section 4.1, “Desktop Security” discusses in more detail what steps administrators and home users
should take to limit the vulnerability of computer workstations.
1.5. COMMON EXPLOITS AND ATTACKS

Table 1.1, “Common Exploits” details some of the most common exploits and entry points used by
intruders to access organizational network resources. Key to these common exploits are the
explanations of how they are performed and how administrators can properly safeguard their network
against such attacks.
Table 1.1. Common Exploits
Exploit Description Notes
Null or Default Leaving administrative passwords blank Commonly associated with networking
Passwords or using a default password set by the hardware such as routers, firewalls,
product vendor. This is most common in VPNs, and network attached storage
(NAS) appliances.
hardware such as routers and firewalls,
but some services that run on Linux can Common in many legacy operating
contain default administrator passwords systems, especially those that bundle
as well (though Red Hat services (such as UNIX and Windows.)
Enterprise Linux 7 does not ship with
them). Administrators sometimes create
privileged user accounts in a rush and
leave the password null, creating a
perfect entry point for malicious users who
discover the account.
Default Shared Secure services sometimes package Most common in wireless access points
Keys default security keys for development or and preconfigured secure server
evaluation testing purposes. If these keys appliances.
are left unchanged and are placed in a
production environment on the Internet,
all users with the same default keys have
access to that shared-key resource, and
any sensitive information that it contains.
IP Spoofing A remote machine acts as a node on your Spoofing is quite difficult as it involves the
local network, finds vulnerabilities with attacker predicting TCP/IP sequence
your servers, and installs a backdoor numbers to coordinate a connection to
target systems, but several tools are
program or Trojan horse to gain control
available to assist crackers in performing
over your network resources. such a vulnerability.
Depends on target system running

services (such as rsh, telnet , FTP
and others) that use source-based
authentication techniques, which are not
recommended when compared to PKI or
other forms of encrypted authentication
used in ssh or SSL/TLS.
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Security Guide
Eavesdropping Collecting data that passes between two This type of attack works mostly with
active nodes on a network by plain text transmission protocols such as
eavesdropping on the connection Telnet, FTP, and HTTP transfers.
between the two nodes.
Remote attacker must have access to a
compromised system on a LAN in order to
perform such an attack; usually the
cracker has used an active attack (such
as IP spoofing or man-in-the-middle) to
compromise a system on the LAN.
Preventative measures include services

with cryptographic key exchange, one-
time passwords, or encrypted
authentication to prevent password
snooping; strong encryption during
transmission is also advised.
Service An attacker finds a flaw or loophole in a HTTP-based services such as CGI are
Vulnerabilities service run over the Internet; through this vulnerable to remote command execution
vulnerability, the attacker compromises and even interactive shell access. Even if
the HTTP service runs as a non-privileged
the entire system and any data that it may
user such as "nobody", information such
hold, and could possibly compromise as configuration files and network maps
other systems on the network. can be read, or the attacker can start a
denial of service attack which drains
system resources or renders it
unavailable to other users.
Services sometimes can have

vulnerabilities that go unnoticed during
development and testing; these
vulnerabilities (such as buffer overflows,
where attackers crash a service using
arbitrary values that fill the memory buffer
of an application, giving the attacker an
interactive command prompt from which
they may execute arbitrary commands)
can give complete administrative control
to an attacker.
Administrators should make sure that

services do not run as the root user, and
should stay vigilant of patches and errata
updates for applications from vendors or
security organizations such as CERT and
CVE.
14
Application Attackers find faults in desktop and Workstations and desktops are more
Vulnerabilities workstation applications (such as email prone to exploitation as workers do not
clients) and execute arbitrary code, have the expertise or experience to
prevent or detect a compromise; it is
implant Trojan horses for future
imperative to inform individuals of the
compromise, or crash systems. Further risks they are taking when they install
exploitation can occur if the compromised unauthorized software or open unsolicited
workstation has administrative privileges email attachments.
on the rest of the network.
Safeguards can be implemented such
that email client software does not
automatically open or execute
attachments. Additionally, the automatic
update of workstation software using Red
Hat Network; or other system
management services can alleviate the
burdens of multi-seat security
deployments.
Denial of Service Attacker or group of attackers coordinate The most reported DoS case in the US
(DoS) Attacks against an organization's network or occurred in 2000. Several highly-
server resources by sending unauthorized trafficked commercial and government
sites were rendered unavailable by a
packets to the target host (either server,
coordinated ping flood attack using
router, or workstation). This forces the several compromised systems with high
resource to become unavailable to bandwidth connections acting as zombies,
legitimate users. or redirected broadcast nodes.
Source packets are usually forged (as

well as rebroadcast), making investigation
as to the true source of the attack difficult.
Advances in ingress filtering (IETF

rfc2267) using iptables and Network
Intrusion Detection Systems such as
snort assist administrators in tracking
down and preventing distributed DoS
attacks.
[1] http://www.sans.org/security-resources/mistakes.php
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Security Guide
CHAPTER 2. SECURITY TIPS FOR INSTALLATION

Security begins with the first time you put that CD or DVD into your disk drive to install Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7. Configuring your system securely from the beginning makes it easier to implement
additional security settings later.
2.1. SECURING BIOS

Password protection for the BIOS (or BIOS equivalent) and the boot loader can prevent unauthorized
users who have physical access to systems from booting using removable media or obtaining root
privileges through single user mode. The security measures you should take to protect against such
attacks depends both on the sensitivity of the information on the workstation and the location of the
machine.
For example, if a machine is used in a trade show and contains no sensitive information, then it may not
be critical to prevent such attacks. However, if an employee's laptop with private, unencrypted SSH keys
for the corporate network is left unattended at that same trade show, it could lead to a major security
breach with ramifications for the entire company.
If the workstation is located in a place where only authorized or trusted people have access, however,
then securing the BIOS or the boot loader may not be necessary.
2.1.1. BIOS Passwords
The two primary reasons for password protecting the BIOS of a computer are[2]:
1. Preventing Changes to BIOS Settings — If an intruder has access to the BIOS, they can set it to
boot from a CD-ROM or a flash drive. This makes it possible for them to enter rescue mode or
single user mode, which in turn allows them to start arbitrary processes on the system or copy
sensitive data.
2. Preventing System Booting — Some BIOSes allow password protection of the boot process.
When activated, an attacker is forced to enter a password before the BIOS launches the boot
loader.
Because the methods for setting a BIOS password vary between computer manufacturers, consult the
computer's manual for specific instructions.
If you forget the BIOS password, it can either be reset with jumpers on the motherboard or by
disconnecting the CMOS battery. For this reason, it is good practice to lock the computer case if
possible. However, consult the manual for the computer or motherboard before attempting to disconnect
the CMOS battery.
2.1.1.1. Securing Non-BIOS-based Systems
Other systems and architectures use different programs to perform low-level tasks roughly equivalent to
those of the BIOS on x86 systems. For example, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) shell.
For instructions on password protecting BIOS-like programs, see the manufacturer's instructions.
2.2. PARTITIONING THE DISK

Red Hat recommends creating separate partitions for the /boot, /, /home/tmp, and /var/tmp/
directories. The reasons for each are different, and we will address each partition.
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CHAPTER 2. SECURITY TIPS FOR INSTALLATION
/boot
This partition is the first partition that is read by the system during boot up. The boot loader and kernel
images that are used to boot your system into Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are stored in this partition.
This partition should not be encrypted. If this partition is included in / and that partition is encrypted or
otherwise becomes unavailable then your system will not be able to boot.
/home
When user data (/home) is stored in / instead of in a separate partition, the partition can fill up
causing the operating system to become unstable. Also, when upgrading your system to the next
version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 it is a lot easier when you can keep your data in the /home
partition as it will not be overwritten during installation. If the root partition (/) becomes corrupt your
data could be lost forever. By using a separate partition there is slightly more protection against data
loss. You can also target this partition for frequent backups.
/tmp and /var/tmp/

Both the /tmp and /var/tmp/ directories are used to store data that does not need to be stored for
a long period of time. However, if a lot of data floods one of these directories it can consume all of
your storage space. If this happens and these directories are stored within / then your system could
become unstable and crash. For this reason, moving these directories into their own partitions is a
good idea.
NOTE
During the installation process, an option to encrypt partitions is presented to you. The
user must supply a passphrase. This passphrase will be used as a key to unlock the bulk
encryption key, which is used to secure the partition's data. For more information on
LUKS, see Section 4.9.1, “Using LUKS Disk Encryption”.
2.3. INSTALLING THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF PACKAGES REQUIRED

It is best practice to install only the packages you will use because each piece of software on your
computer could possibly contain a vulnerability. If you are installing from the DVD media, take the
opportunity to select exactly what packages you want to install during the installation. If you find you
need another package, you can always add it to the system later.
For more information about installing the Minimal install environment, see the Software Selection
chapter of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide. A minimal installation can also be
performed by a Kickstart file using the --nobase option. For more information about Kickstart
installations, see the Package Selection section from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide.
2.4. RESTRICTING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY DURING THE

INSTALLATION PROCESS
When installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the installation medium represents a snapshot of the system
at a particular time. Because of this, it may not be up-to-date with the latest security fixes and may be
vulnerable to certain issues that were fixed only after the system provided by the installation medium was
released.
When installing a potentially vulnerable operating system, always limit exposure only to the closest
necessary network zone. The safest choice is the “no network” zone, which means to leave your
machine disconnected during the installation process. In some cases, a LAN or intranet connection is
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Security Guide
sufficient while the Internet connection is the riskiest. To follow the best security practices, choose the
closest zone with your repository while installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux from a network.
For more information about configuring network connectivity, see the Network & Hostname chapter of the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide.
2.5. POST-INSTALLATION PROCEDURES

The following steps are the security-related procedures that should be performed immediately after
installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
1. Update your system. enter the following command as root:
~]# yum update
2. Even though the firewall service, firewalld, is automatically enabled with the installation of
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, there are scenarios where it might be explicitly disabled, for example
in the kickstart configuration. In such a case, it is recommended to consider re-enabling the
firewall.
To start firewalld enter the following commands as root:
~]# systemctl start firewalld

~]# systemctl enable firewalld
3. To enhance security, disable services you do not need. For example, if there are no printers
installed on your computer, disable the cups service using the following command:
~]# systemctl disable cups
To review active services, enter the following command:
~]$ systemctl list-units | grep service
2.6. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For more information about installation in general, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide.
[2] Since system BIOSes differ between manufacturers, some may not support password protection of either type,
while others may support one type but not the other.
18
CHAPTER 3. KEEPING YOUR SYSTEM UP-TO-DATE

This chapter describes the process of keeping your system up-to-date, which involves planning and
configuring the way security updates are installed, applying changes introduced by newly updated
packages, and using the Red Hat Customer Portal for keeping track of security advisories.
3.1. MAINTAINING INSTALLED SOFTWARE

As security vulnerabilities are discovered, the affected software must be updated in order to limit any
potential security risks. If the software is a part of a package within a Red Hat Enterprise Linux
distribution that is currently supported, Red Hat is committed to releasing updated packages that fix the
vulnerabilities as soon as possible.
Often, announcements about a given security exploit are accompanied with a patch (or source code) that
fixes the problem. This patch is then applied to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux package and tested and
released as an erratum update. However, if an announcement does not include a patch, Red Hat
developers first work with the maintainer of the software to fix the problem. Once the problem is fixed, the
package is tested and released as an erratum update.
If an erratum update is released for software used on your system, it is highly recommended that you
update the affected packages as soon as possible to minimize the amount of time the system is
potentially vulnerable.
3.1.1. Planning and Configuring Security Updates

All software contains bugs. Often, these bugs can result in a vulnerability that can expose your system to
malicious users. Packages that have not been updated are a common cause of computer intrusions.
Implement a plan for installing security patches in a timely manner to quickly eliminate discovered
vulnerabilities, so they cannot be exploited.
Test security updates when they become available and schedule them for installation. Additional controls
need to be used to protect the system during the time between the release of the update and its
installation on the system. These controls depend on the exact vulnerability, but may include additional
firewall rules, the use of external firewalls, or changes in software settings.
Bugs in supported packages are fixed using the errata mechanism. An erratum consists of one or more
RPM packages accompanied by a brief explanation of the problem that the particular erratum deals with.
All errata are distributed to customers with active subscriptions through the Red Hat Subscription
Management service. Errata that address security issues are called Red Hat Security Advisories.
For more information on working with security errata, see Section 3.2.1, “Viewing Security Advisories on
the Customer Portal”. For detailed information about the Red Hat Subscription Management service,
including instructions on how to migrate from RHN Classic, see the documentation related to this
service: Red Hat Subscription Management.
3.1.1.1. Using the Security Features of Yum
The Yum package manager includes several security-related features that can be used to search, list,
display, and install security errata. These features also make it possible to use Yum to install nothing but
security updates.
To check for security-related updates available for your system, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum check-update --security

Loaded plugins: langpacks, product-id, subscription-manager
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Security Guide
rhel-7-workstation-rpms/x86_64 | 3.4 kB 00:00:00

No packages needed for security; 0 packages available
Note that the above command runs in a non-interactive mode, so it can be used in scripts for automated
checking whether there are any updates available. The command returns an exit value of 100 when there
are any security updates available and 0 when there are not. On encountering an error, it returns 1.
Analogously, use the following command to only install security-related updates:
~]# yum update --security
Use the updateinfo subcommand to display or act upon information provided by repositories about
available updates. The updateinfo subcommand itself accepts a number of commands, some of which
pertain to security-related uses. See Table 3.1, “Security-related commands usable with yum
updateinfo” for an overview of these commands.
Table 3.1. Security-related commands usable with yum updateinfo
Command Description
advisory [advisories] Displays information about one or more advisories. Replace

advisories with an advisory number or numbers.
cves Displays the subset of information that pertains to CVE (Common

Vulnerabilities and Exposures).
security or sec Displays all security-related information.
severity [severity_level Displays information about security-relevant packages of the

] or sev [severity_level] supplied severity_level.
3.1.2. Updating and Installing Packages

When updating software on a system, it is important to download the update from a trusted source. An
attacker can easily rebuild a package with the same version number as the one that is supposed to fix
the problem but with a different security exploit and release it on the Internet. If this happens, using
security measures, such as verifying files against the original RPM, does not detect the exploit. Thus, it is
very important to only download RPMs from trusted sources, such as from Red Hat, and to check the
package signatures to verify their integrity.
See the Yum chapter of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide for detailed
information on how to use the Yum package manager.
3.1.2.1. Verifying Signed Packages
All Red Hat Enterprise Linux packages are signed with the Red Hat GPG key. GPG stands for GNU
Privacy Guard, or GnuPG, a free software package used for ensuring the authenticity of distributed
files. If the verification of a package signature fails, the package may be altered and therefore cannot be
trusted.
The Yum package manager allows for an automatic verification of all packages it installs or upgrades.
This feature is enabled by default. To configure this option on your system, make sure the gpgcheck
configuration directive is set to 1 in the /etc/yum.conf configuration file.
20
Use the following command to manually verify package files on your filesystem:
rpmkeys --checksig package_file.rpm
See the Product Signing (GPG) Keys article on the Red Hat Customer Portal for additional information
about Red Hat package-signing practices.
3.1.2.2. Installing Signed Packages
To install verified packages (see Section 3.1.2.1, “Verifying Signed Packages” for information on how to
verify packages) from your filesystem, use the yum install command as the root user as follows:
yum install package_file.rpm
Use a shell glob to install several packages at once. For example, the following commands installs all
.rpm packages in the current directory:
yum install *.rpm
IMPORTANT
Before installing any security errata, be sure to read any special instructions contained in
the erratum report and execute them accordingly. See Section 3.1.3, “Applying Changes
Introduced by Installed Updates” for general instructions about applying changes made
by errata updates.
3.1.3. Applying Changes Introduced by Installed Updates

After downloading and installing security errata and updates, it is important to halt the usage of the old
software and begin using the new software. How this is done depends on the type of software that has
been updated. The following list itemizes the general categories of software and provides instructions for
using updated versions after a package upgrade.
NOTE
In general, rebooting the system is the surest way to ensure that the latest version of a
software package is used; however, this option is not always required, nor is it always
available to the system administrator.
Applications
User-space applications are any programs that can be initiated by the user. Typically, such
applications are used only when the user, a script, or an automated task utility launch them.
Once such a user-space application is updated, halt any instances of the application on the system,
and launch the program again to use the updated version.
Kernel
The kernel is the core software component for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 operating system. It
manages access to memory, the processor, and peripherals, and it schedules all tasks.
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Security Guide
Because of its central role, the kernel cannot be restarted without also rebooting the computer.
Therefore, an updated version of the kernel cannot be used until the system is rebooted.
KVM
When the qemu-kvm and libvirt packages are updated, it is necessary to stop all guest virtual
machines, reload relevant virtualization modules (or reboot the host system), and restart the virtual
machines.
Use the lsmod command to determine which modules from the following are loaded: kvm, kvm-
intel, or kvm-amd. Then use the modprobe -r command to remove and subsequently the
modprobe -a command to reload the affected modules. Fox example:
~]# lsmod | grep kvm

kvm_intel 143031 0
kvm 460181 1 kvm_intel
~]# modprobe -r kvm-intel
~]# modprobe -r kvm
~]# modprobe -a kvm kvm-intel
Shared Libraries
Shared libraries are units of code, such as glibc, that are used by a number of applications and
services. Applications utilizing a shared library typically load the shared code when the application is
initialized, so any applications using an updated library must be halted and relaunched.
To determine which running applications link against a particular library, use the lsof command:
lsof library
For example, to determine which running applications link against the libwrap.so.0 library, type:
~]# lsof /lib64/libwrap.so.0

COMMAND PID USER FD TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
pulseaudi 12363 test mem REG 253,0 42520 34121785
/usr/lib64/libwrap.so.0.7.6
gnome-set 12365 test mem REG 253,0 42520 34121785
gnome-she 12454 test mem REG 253,0 42520 34121785
This command returns a list of all the running programs that use TCP wrappers for host-access
control. Therefore, any program listed must be halted and relaunched when the tcp_wrappers
package is updated.
systemd Services
systemd services are persistent server programs usually launched during the boot process.
Examples of systemd services include sshd or vsftpd.
Because these programs usually persist in memory as long as a machine is running, each updated
systemd service must be halted and relaunched after its package is upgraded. This can be done as
the root user using the systemctl command:
systemctl restart service_name
22
Replace service_name with the name of the service you want to restart, such as sshd.
Other Software
Follow the instructions outlined by the resources linked below to correctly update the following
applications.
Red Hat Directory Server — See the Release Notes for the version of the Red Hat
Directory Server in question at https://access.redhat.com/site/documentation/en-
US/Red_Hat_Directory_Server/.
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager — See the Installation Guide for the version of
the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization in question at
https://access.redhat.com/site/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Virtualization/.
3.2. USING THE RED HAT CUSTOMER PORTAL

The Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/ is the main customer-oriented resource for
official information related to Red Hat products. You can use it to find documentation, manage your
subscriptions, download products and updates, open support cases, and learn about security updates.
3.2.1. Viewing Security Advisories on the Customer Portal

To view security advisories (errata) relevant to the systems for which you have active subscriptions, log
into the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/ and click on the Download Products &
Updates button on the main page. When you enter the Software & Download Center page,
continue by clicking on the Errata button to see a list of advisories pertinent to your registered systems.
To browse a list of all security updates for all active Red Hat products, go to Security → Security
Updates → Active Products using the navigation menu at the top of the page.
Click on the erratum code in the left part of the table to display more detailed information about the
individual advisories. The next page contains not only a description of the given erratum, including its
causes, consequences, and required fixes, but also a list of all packages that the particular erratum
updates along with instructions on how to apply the updates. The page also includes links to relevant
references, such as related CVE.
3.2.2. Navigating CVE Customer Portal Pages

The CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) project, maintained by The MITRE Corporation, is a
list of standardized names for vulnerabilities and security exposures. To browse a list of CVE that pertain
to Red Hat products on the Customer Portal, log into your account at https://access.redhat.com/ and
navigate to Security → Resources → CVE Database using the navigation menu at the top of the page.
Click on the CVE code in the left part of the table to display more detailed information about the
individual vulnerabilities. The next page contains not only a description of the given CVE but also a list of
affected Red Hat products along with links to relevant Red Hat errata.
3.2.3. Understanding Issue Severity Classification

All security issues discovered in Red Hat products are assigned an impact rating by Red Hat Product
Security according to the severity of the problem. The four-point scale consists of the following levels:
Low, Moderate, Important, and Critical. In addition to that, every security issue is rated using the
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores.
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Security Guide
Together, these ratings help you understand the impact of security issues, allowing you to schedule and
prioritize upgrade strategies for your systems. Note that the ratings reflect the potential risk of a given
vulnerability, which is based on a technical analysis of the bug, not the current threat level. This means
that the security impact rating does not change if an exploit is released for a particular flaw.
To see a detailed description of the individual levels of severity ratings on the Customer Portal, visit the
Severity Ratings page.

For more information about security updates, ways of applying them, the Red Hat Customer Portal, and
related topics, see the resources listed below.
Installed Documentation
yum(8) — The manual page for the Yum package manager provides information about the way
Yum can be used to install, update, and remove packages on your systems.
rpmkeys(8) — The manual page for the rpmkeys utility describes the way this program can be
used to verify the authenticity of downloaded packages.
Online Documentation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide — The System Administrator's Guide
for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 documents the use of the Yum and rpm commands that are used
to install, update, and remove packages on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 systems.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 SELinux User's and Administrator's Guide — The SELinux User's
and Administrator's Guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 documents the configuration of the
SELinux mandatory access control mechanism.
Red Hat Customer Portal

Red Hat Customer Portal, Security — The Security section of the Customer Portal contains links
to the most important resources, including the Red Hat CVE database, and contacts for Red Hat
Product Security.
Red Hat Security Blog — Articles about latest security-related issues from Red Hat security
professionals.
See Also
Chapter 2, Security Tips for Installation describes how to configure your system securely from
the beginning to make it easier to implement additional security settings later.
Section 4.9.2, “Creating GPG Keys” describes how to create a set of personal GPG keys to
authenticate your communications.
24
CHAPTER 4. HARDENING YOUR SYSTEM WITH TOOLS AND SERVICES
CHAPTER 4. HARDENING YOUR SYSTEM WITH TOOLS AND

SERVICES
4.1. DESKTOP SECURITY

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 offers several ways for hardening the desktop against attacks and preventing
unauthorized accesses. This section describes recommended practices for user passwords, session and
account locking, and safe handling of removable media.
4.1.1. Password Security

Passwords are the primary method that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 uses to verify a user's identity. This
is why password security is so important for protection of the user, the workstation, and the network.
For security purposes, the installation program configures the system to use Secure Hash Algorithm 512
(SHA512) and shadow passwords. It is highly recommended that you do not alter these settings.
If shadow passwords are deselected during installation, all passwords are stored as a one-way hash in
the world-readable /etc/passwd file, which makes the system vulnerable to offline password cracking
attacks. If an intruder can gain access to the machine as a regular user, he can copy the /etc/passwd
file to his own machine and run any number of password cracking programs against it. If there is an
insecure password in the file, it is only a matter of time before the password cracker discovers it.
Shadow passwords eliminate this type of attack by storing the password hashes in the file
/etc/shadow, which is readable only by the root user.
This forces a potential attacker to attempt password cracking remotely by logging into a network service
on the machine, such as SSH or FTP. This sort of brute-force attack is much slower and leaves an
obvious trail as hundreds of failed login attempts are written to system files. Of course, if the cracker
starts an attack in the middle of the night on a system with weak passwords, the cracker may have
gained access before dawn and edited the log files to cover his tracks.
In addition to format and storage considerations is the issue of content. The single most important thing
a user can do to protect his account against a password cracking attack is create a strong password.
NOTE
Red Hat recommends using a central authentication solution, such as Red Hat Identity
Management (IdM). Using a central solution is preferred over using local passwords. For
details, see:
Introduction to Red Hat Identity Management
Defining Password Policies
4.1.1.1. Creating Strong Passwords
When creating a secure password, the user must remember that long passwords are stronger than short
and complex ones. It is not a good idea to create a password of just eight characters, even if it contains
digits, special characters and uppercase letters. Password cracking tools, such as John The Ripper, are
optimized for breaking such passwords, which are also hard to remember by a person.
In information theory, entropy is the level of uncertainty associated with a random variable and is
presented in bits. The higher the entropy value, the more secure the password is. According to NIST SP
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Security Guide
800-63-1, passwords that are not present in a dictionary comprised of 50000 commonly selected
passwords should have at least 10 bits of entropy. As such, a password that consists of four random
words contains around 40 bits of entropy. A long password consisting of multiple words for added
security is also called a passphrase, for example:
randomword1 randomword2 randomword3 randomword4
If the system enforces the use of uppercase letters, digits, or special characters, the passphrase that
follows the above recommendation can be modified in a simple way, for example by changing the first
character to uppercase and appending "1!". Note that such a modification does not increase the security
of the passphrase significantly.
Another way to create a password yourself is using a password generator. The pwmake is a command-
line tool for generating random passwords that consist of all four groups of characters – uppercase,
lowercase, digits and special characters. The utility allows you to specify the number of entropy bits that
are used to generate the password. The entropy is pulled from /dev/urandom. The minimum number of
bits you can specify is 56, which is enough for passwords on systems and services where brute force
attacks are rare. 64 bits is adequate for applications where the attacker does not have direct access to
the password hash file. For situations when the attacker might obtain the direct access to the password
hash or the password is used as an encryption key, 80 to 128 bits should be used. If you specify an
invalid number of entropy bits, pwmake will use the default of bits. To create a password of 128 bits,
enter the following command:
pwmake 128
While there are different approaches to creating a secure password, always avoid the following bad
practices:
Using a single dictionary word, a word in a foreign language, an inverted word, or only numbers.
Using less than 10 characters for a password or passphrase.
Using a sequence of keys from the keyboard layout.
Writing down your passwords.
Using personal information in a password, such as birth dates, anniversaries, family member
names, or pet names.
Using the same passphrase or password on multiple machines.
While creating secure passwords is imperative, managing them properly is also important, especially for
system administrators within larger organizations. The following section details good practices for
creating and managing user passwords within an organization.
4.1.1.2. Forcing Strong Passwords
If an organization has a large number of users, the system administrators have two basic options
available to force the use of strong passwords. They can create passwords for the user, or they can let
users create their own passwords while verifying the passwords are of adequate strength.
Creating the passwords for the users ensures that the passwords are good, but it becomes a daunting
task as the organization grows. It also increases the risk of users writing their passwords down, thus
exposing them.
26
For these reasons, most system administrators prefer to have the users create their own passwords, but
actively verify that these passwords are strong enough. In some cases, administrators may force users
to change their passwords periodically through password aging.
When users are asked to create or change passwords, they can use the passwd command-line utility,
which is PAM-aware (Pluggable Authentication Modules) and checks to see if the password is too short
or otherwise easy to crack. This checking is performed by the pam_pwquality.so PAM module.
NOTE
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, the pam_pwquality PAM module replaced

pam_cracklib, which was used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 as a default module for
password quality checking. It uses the same back end as pam_cracklib.
The pam_pwquality module is used to check a password's strength against a set of rules. Its
procedure consists of two steps: first it checks if the provided password is found in a dictionary. If not, it
continues with a number of additional checks. pam_pwquality is stacked alongside other PAM
modules in the password component of the /etc/pam.d/passwd file, and the custom set of rules is
specified in the /etc/security/pwquality.conf configuration file. For a complete list of these
checks, see the pwquality.conf (8) manual page.
Example 4.1. Configuring password strength-checking in pwquality.conf
To enable using pam_quality, add the following line to the password stack in the
/etc/pam.d/passwd file:
password required pam_pwquality.so retry=3
Options for the checks are specified one per line. For example, to require a password with a minimum
length of 8 characters, including all four classes of characters, add the following lines to the
/etc/security/pwquality.conf file:
minlen = 8
minclass = 4
To set a password strength-check for character sequences and same consecutive characters, add
the following lines to /etc/security/pwquality.conf:
maxsequence = 3
maxrepeat = 3
In this example, the password entered cannot contain more than 3 characters in a monotonic
sequence, such as abcd, and more than 3 identical consecutive characters, such as 1111.
NOTE
As the root user is the one who enforces the rules for password creation, they can set any
password for themselves or for a regular user, despite the warning messages.
4.1.1.3. Configuring Password Aging
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Security Guide
Password aging is another technique used by system administrators to defend against bad passwords
within an organization. Password aging means that after a specified period (usually 90 days), the user is
prompted to create a new password. The theory behind this is that if a user is forced to change his
password periodically, a cracked password is only useful to an intruder for a limited amount of time. The
downside to password aging, however, is that users are more likely to write their passwords down.
To specify password aging under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, make use of the chage command.
IMPORTANT
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, shadow passwords are enabled by default. For more
information, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide.
The -M option of the chage command specifies the maximum number of days the password is valid. For
example, to set a user's password to expire in 90 days, use the following command:
chage -M 90 username
In the above command, replace username with the name of the user. To disable password expiration,
use the value of -1 after the -M option.
For more information on the options available with the chage command, see the table below.
Table 4.1. chage command line options
Option Description
-d days Specifies the number of days since January 1, 1970 the password was
changed.
-E date Specifies the date on which the account is locked, in the format YYYY-MM-
DD. Instead of the date, the number of days since January 1, 1970 can also
be used.
-I days Specifies the number of inactive days after the password expiration before
locking the account. If the value is 0 , the account is not locked after the
password expires.
-l Lists current account aging settings.
-m days Specify the minimum number of days after which the user must change
passwords. If the value is 0 , the password does not expire.
-M days Specify the maximum number of days for which the password is valid. When
the number of days specified by this option plus the number of days
specified with the -d option is less than the current day, the user must
change passwords before using the account.
-W days Specifies the number of days before the password expiration date to warn
the user.
28
You can also use the chage command in interactive mode to modify multiple password aging and
account details. Use the following command to enter interactive mode:
chage <username>
The following is a sample interactive session using this command:
~]# chage juan

Changing the aging information for juan
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
Minimum Password Age [0]: 10
Maximum Password Age [99999]: 90
Last Password Change (YYYY-MM-DD) [2006-08-18]:
Password Expiration Warning [7]:
Password Inactive [-1]:
Account Expiration Date (YYYY-MM-DD) [1969-12-31]:
You can configure a password to expire the first time a user logs in. This forces users to change
passwords immediately.
1. Set up an initial password. To assign a default password, enter the following command at a shell
prompt as root:
passwd username

WARNING
The passwd utility has the option to set a null password. Using a null
password, while convenient, is a highly insecure practice, as any third party
can log in and access the system using the insecure user name. Avoid
using null passwords wherever possible. If it is not possible, always make
sure that the user is ready to log in before unlocking an account with a null
password.
2. Force immediate password expiration by running the following command as root:
chage -d 0 username
This command sets the value for the date the password was last changed to the epoch (January
1, 1970). This value forces immediate password expiration no matter what password aging
policy, if any, is in place.
Upon the initial log in, the user is now prompted for a new password.
4.1.2. Account Locking

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, the pam_faillock PAM module allows system administrators to lock
out user accounts after a specified number of failed attempts. Limiting user login attempts serves mainly
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Security Guide
as a security measure that aims to prevent possible brute force attacks targeted to obtain a user's
account password.
With the pam_faillock module, failed login attempts are stored in a separate file for each user in the
/var/run/faillock directory.
NOTE
The order of lines in the failed attempt log files is important. Any change in this order can
lock all user accounts, including the root user account when the even_deny_root
option is used.
Follow these steps to configure account locking:
1. To lock out any non-root user after three unsuccessful attempts and unlock that user after 10
minutes, add two lines to the auth section of the /etc/pam.d/system-auth and
/etc/pam.d/password-auth files. After your edits, the entire auth section in both files
should look like this:
1 auth required pam_env.so

2 auth required pam_faillock.so preauth silent audit
deny=3 unlock_time=600
3 auth sufficient pam_unix.so nullok try_first_pass
4 auth [default=die] pam_faillock.so authfail audit deny=3
unlock_time=600
5 auth requisite pam_succeed_if.so uid >= 1000
quiet_success
6 auth required pam_deny.so
Lines number 2 and 4 have been added.
2. Add the following line to the account section of both files specified in the previous step:
account required pam_faillock.so
3. To apply account locking for the root user as well, add the even_deny_root option to the
pam_faillock entries in the /etc/pam.d/system-auth and /etc/pam.d/password-
auth files:
auth required pam_faillock.so preauth silent audit

deny=3 even_deny_root unlock_time=600
auth sufficient pam_unix.so nullok try_first_pass
auth [default=die] pam_faillock.so authfail audit deny=3
even_deny_root unlock_time=600
When user john attempts to log in for the fourth time after failing to log in three times previously, his
account is locked upon the fourth attempt:
[yruseva@localhost ~]$ su - john

Account locked due to 3 failed logins
su: incorrect password
30
To prevent the system from locking users out even after multiple failed logins, add the following line just
above the line where pam_faillock is called for the first time in both /etc/pam.d/system-auth
and /etc/pam.d/password-auth. Also replace user1, user2, and user3 with the actual user
names.
auth [success=1 default=ignore] pam_succeed_if.so user in

user1:user2:user3
To view the number of failed attempts per user, run, as root, the following command:
[root@localhost ~]# faillock

john:
When Type Source
Valid
2013-03-05 11:44:14 TTY pts/0
V
To unlock a user's account, run, as root, the following command:
faillock --user <username> --reset
Keeping Custom Settings with authconfig

When modifying authentication configuration using the authconfig utility, the system-auth and
password-auth files are overwritten with the settings from the authconfig utility. This can be avoided
by creating symbolic links in place of the configuration files, which authconfig recognizes and does not
overwrite. In order to use custom settings in the configuration files and authconfig simultaneously,
configure account locking using the following steps:
1. Check whether the system-auth and password-auth files are already symbolic links pointing
to system-auth-ac and password-auth-ac (this is the system default):
~]# ls -l /etc/pam.d/{password,system}-auth
If the output is similar to the following, the symbolic links are in place, and you can skip to step
number 3:
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 16 24. Feb 09.29 /etc/pam.d/password-auth ->

password-auth-ac
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 28 24. Feb 09.29 /etc/pam.d/system-auth ->
system-auth-ac
If the system-auth and password-auth files are not symbolic links, continue with the next
step.
2. Rename the configuration files:
~]# mv /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/system-auth-ac

~]# mv /etc/pam.d/password-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth-ac
3. Create configuration files with your custom settings:
~]# vi /etc/pam.d/system-auth-local
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Security Guide
The /etc/pam.d/system-auth-local file should contain the following lines:

auth include system-auth-ac
auth [default=die] pam_faillock.so authfail silent audit

account include system-auth-ac
password include system-auth-ac
session include system-auth-ac
~]# vi /etc/pam.d/password-auth-local
The /etc/pam.d/password-auth-local file should contain the following lines:

auth include password-auth-ac
auth [default=die] pam_faillock.so authfail silent audit

account include password-auth-ac
password include password-auth-ac
session include password-auth-ac
4. Create the following symbolic links:
~]# ln -sf /etc/pam.d/system-auth-local /etc/pam.d/system-auth

~]# ln -sf /etc/pam.d/password-auth-local /etc/pam.d/password-auth
For more information on various pam_faillock configuration options, see the pam_faillock(8) manual
page.
4.1.3. Session Locking

Users may need to leave their workstation unattended for a number of reasons during everyday
operation. This could present an opportunity for an attacker to physically access the machine, especially
in environments with insufficient physical security measures (see Section 1.2.1, “Physical Controls”).
Laptops are especially exposed since their mobility interferes with physical security. You can alleviate
these risks by using session locking features which prevent access to the system until a correct
password is entered.
32
NOTE
The main advantage of locking the screen instead of logging out is that a lock allows the
user's processes (such as file transfers) to continue running. Logging out would stop
these processes.
4.1.3.1. Locking Virtual Consoles Using vlock
Users may also need to lock a virtual console. This can be done using a utility called vlock. To install
this utility, execute the following command as root:
~]# yum install vlock
After installation, any console session can be locked using the vlock command without any additional
parameters. This locks the currently active virtual console session while still allowing access to the
others. To prevent access to all virtual consoles on the workstation, execute the following:
vlock -a
In this case, vlock locks the currently active console and the -a option prevents switching to other
virtual consoles.
See the vlock(1) man page for additional information.
4.1.4. Enforcing Read-Only Mounting of Removable Media

To enforce read-only mounting of removable media (such as USB flash disks), the administrator can use
a udev rule to detect removable media and configure them to be mounted read-only using the blockdev
utility. This is sufficient for enforcing read-only mounting of physical media.
Using blockdev to Force Read-Only Mounting of Removable Media

To force all removable media to be mounted read-only, create a new udev configuration file named, for
example, 80-readonly-removables.rules in the /etc/udev/rules.d/ directory with the
following content:
SUBSYSTEM=="block",ATTRS{removable}=="1",RUN{program}="/sbin/blockdev --
setro %N"
The above udev rule ensures that any newly connected removable block (storage) device is
automatically configured as read-only using the blockdev utility.
Applying New udev Settings

For these settings to take effect, the new udev rules need to be applied. The udev service automatically
detects changes to its configuration files, but new settings are not applied to already existing devices.
Only newly connected devices are affected by the new settings. Therefore, you need to unmount and
unplug all connected removable media to ensure that the new settings are applied to them when they are
next plugged in.
To force udev to re-apply all rules to already existing devices, enter the following command as root:
~# udevadm trigger
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Security Guide
Note that forcing udev to re-apply all rules using the above command does not affect any storage
devices that are already mounted.
To force udev to reload all rules (in case the new rules are not automatically detected for some reason),
use the following command:
~# udevadm control --reload
4.2. CONTROLLING ROOT ACCESS

When administering a home machine, the user must perform some tasks as the root user or by
acquiring effective root privileges using a setuid program, such as sudo or su. A setuid program is one
that operates with the user ID (UID) of the program's owner rather than the user operating the program.
Such programs are denoted by an s in the owner section of a long format listing, as in the following
example:
~]$ ls -l /bin/su
-rwsr-xr-x. 1 root root 34904 Mar 10 2011 /bin/su
NOTE
The s may be upper case or lower case. If it appears as upper case, it means that the
underlying permission bit has not been set.
For the system administrator of an organization, however, choices must be made as to how much
administrative access users within the organization should have to their machines. Through a PAM
module called pam_console.so, some activities normally reserved only for the root user, such as
rebooting and mounting removable media, are allowed for the first user that logs in at the physical
console. However, other important system administration tasks, such as altering network settings,
configuring a new mouse, or mounting network devices, are not possible without administrative
privileges. As a result, system administrators must decide how much access the users on their network
should receive.
4.2.1. Disallowing Root Access

If an administrator is uncomfortable allowing users to log in as root for these or other reasons, the root
password should be kept secret, and access to runlevel one or single user mode should be disallowed
through boot loader password protection (see Section 4.2.5, “Securing the Boot Loader” for more
information on this topic.)
The following are four different ways that an administrator can further ensure that root logins are
disallowed:
Changing the root shell

To prevent users from logging in directly as root, the system administrator can set the root
account's shell to /sbin/nologin in the /etc/passwd file.
Table 4.2. Disabling the Root Shell
34
Effects Does Not Affect
Prevents access to a root shell and logs any such Programs that do not require a shell, such as FTP
attempts. The following programs are prevented clients, mail clients, and many setuid programs. The
from accessing the root account: following programs are not prevented from
accessing the root account:
login
sudo
gdm
FTP clients
kdm
Email clients
xdm
su
ssh
scp
sftp
Disabling root access using any console device (tty)

To further limit access to the root account, administrators can disable root logins at the console by
editing the /etc/securetty file. This file lists all devices the root user is allowed to log into. If the
file does not exist at all, the root user can log in through any communication device on the system,
whether through the console or a raw network interface. This is dangerous, because a user can log in
to their machine as root using Telnet, which transmits the password in plain text over the network.
By default, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7's /etc/securetty file only allows the root user to log in at
the console physically attached to the machine. To prevent the root user from logging in, remove the
contents of this file by typing the following command at a shell prompt as root:
echo > /etc/securetty
To enable securetty support in the KDM, GDM, and XDM login managers, add the following line:
auth [user_unknown=ignore success=ok ignore=ignore default=bad]

pam_securetty.so
to the files listed below:
/etc/pam.d/gdm
/etc/pam.d/gdm-autologin
/etc/pam.d/gdm-fingerprint
/etc/pam.d/gdm-password
/etc/pam.d/gdm-smartcard
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Security Guide
/etc/pam.d/kdm
/etc/pam.d/kdm-np
/etc/pam.d/xdm

WARNING
A blank /etc/securetty file does not prevent the root user from logging in
remotely using the OpenSSH suite of tools because the console is not opened
until after authentication.
Table 4.3. Disabling Root Logins
Prevents access to the root account using the Programs that do not log in as root, but perform
console or the network. The following programs are administrative tasks through setuid or other
prevented from accessing the root account: mechanisms. The following programs are not
prevented from accessing the root account:
login
su
gdm
sudo
kdm
ssh
xdm
scp
Other network services that open a tty
sftp
Disabling root SSH logins

To prevent root logins through the SSH protocol, edit the SSH daemon's configuration file,
/etc/ssh/sshd_config, and change the line that reads:
#PermitRootLogin yes
to read as follows:
PermitRootLogin no
Table 4.4. Disabling Root SSH Logins
36
Prevents root access using the OpenSSH suite of Programs that are not part of the OpenSSH suite of
tools. The following programs are prevented from tools.
accessing the root account:
ssh
scp
sftp
Using PAM to limit root access to services

PAM, through the /lib/security/pam_listfile.so module, allows great flexibility in denying
specific accounts. The administrator can use this module to reference a list of users who are not
allowed to log in. To limit root access to a system service, edit the file for the target service in the
/etc/pam.d/ directory and make sure the pam_listfile.so module is required for
authentication.
The following is an example of how the module is used for the vsftpd FTP server in the
/etc/pam.d/vsftpd PAM configuration file (the \ character at the end of the first line is not
necessary if the directive is on a single line):
auth required /lib/security/pam_listfile.so item=user \

sense=deny file=/etc/vsftpd.ftpusers onerr=succeed
This instructs PAM to consult the /etc/vsftpd.ftpusers file and deny access to the service for
any listed user. The administrator can change the name of this file, and can keep separate lists for
each service or use one central list to deny access to multiple services.
If the administrator wants to deny access to multiple services, a similar line can be added to the PAM
configuration files, such as /etc/pam.d/pop and /etc/pam.d/imap for mail clients, or
/etc/pam.d/ssh for SSH clients.
For more information about PAM, see The Linux-PAM System Administrator's Guide, located in the
/usr/share/doc/pam-<version>/html/ directory.
Table 4.5. Disabling Root Using PAM
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Security Guide
Prevents root access to network services that are Programs and services that are not PAM aware.
PAM aware. The following services are prevented
from accessing the root account:
login
gdm
kdm
xdm
ssh
scp
sftp
FTP clients
Email clients
Any PAM aware services
4.2.2. Allowing Root Access

If the users within an organization are trusted and computer-literate, then allowing them root access
may not be an issue. Allowing root access by users means that minor activities, like adding devices or
configuring network interfaces, can be handled by the individual users, leaving system administrators
free to deal with network security and other important issues.
On the other hand, giving root access to individual users can lead to the following issues:
Machine Misconfiguration — Users with root access can misconfigure their machines and
require assistance to resolve issues. Even worse, they might open up security holes without
knowing it.
Running Insecure Services — Users with root access might run insecure servers on their
machine, such as FTP or Telnet, potentially putting usernames and passwords at risk. These
services transmit this information over the network in plain text.
Running Email Attachments As Root — Although rare, email viruses that affect Linux do exist. A
malicious program poses the greatest threat when run by the root user.
Keeping the audit trail intact — Because the root account is often shared by multiple users, so
that multiple system administrators can maintain the system, it is impossible to figure out which
of those users was root at a given time. When using separate logins, the account a user logs in
with, as well as a unique number for session tracking purposes, is put into the task structure,
which is inherited by every process that the user starts. When using concurrent logins, the
unique number can be used to trace actions to specific logins. When an action generates an
audit event, it is recorded with the login account and the session associated with that unique
number. Use the aulast command to view these logins and sessions. The --proof option of
38
the aulast command can be used suggest a specific ausearch query to isolate auditable
events generated by a particular session. For more information about the Audit system, see
Chapter 6, System Auditing.
4.2.3. Limiting Root Access

Rather than completely denying access to the root user, the administrator may want to allow access
only through setuid programs, such as su or sudo. For more information on su and sudo, see the
Gaining Privileges chapter in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide, and the su(1)
and sudo(8) man pages.
4.2.4. Enabling Automatic Logouts

When the user is logged in as root, an unattended login session may pose a significant security risk. To
reduce this risk, you can configure the system to automatically log out idle users after a fixed period of
time.
1. As root, add the following line at the beginning of the /etc/profile file to make sure the
processing of this file cannot be interrupted:
trap "" 1 2 3 15
2. As root, insert the following lines to the /etc/profile file to automatically log out after 120
seconds:
export TMOUT=120
readonly TMOUT
The TMOUT variable terminates the shell if there is no activity for the specified number of
seconds (set to 120 in the above example). You can change the limit according to the needs of
the particular installation.
4.2.5. Securing the Boot Loader

The primary reasons for password protecting a Linux boot loader are as follows:
1. Preventing Access to Single User Mode — If attackers can boot the system into single user
mode, they are logged in automatically as root without being prompted for the root password.
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Security Guide

WARNING
Protecting access to single user mode with a password by editing the

SINGLE parameter in the /etc/sysconfig/init file is not
recommended. An attacker can bypass the password by specifying a
custom initial command (using the init= parameter) on the kernel
command line in GRUB 2. It is recommended to password-protect the
GRUB 2 boot loader, as described in the Protecting GRUB 2 with a
Password chapter in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's
Guide.
2. Preventing Access to the GRUB 2 Console — If the machine uses GRUB 2 as its boot loader, an
attacker can use the GRUB 2 editor interface to change its configuration or to gather information
using the cat command.
3. Preventing Access to Insecure Operating Systems — If it is a dual-boot system, an attacker can

select an operating system at boot time, for example DOS, which ignores access controls and
file permissions.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 includes the GRUB 2 boot loader on the Intel 64 and AMD64 platform. For a
detailed look at GRUB 2, see the Working With the GRUB 2 Boot Loader chapter in Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide.
4.2.5.1. Disabling Interactive Startup
Pressing the I key at the beginning of the boot sequence allows you to start up your system interactively.
During an interactive startup, the system prompts you to start up each service one by one. However, this
may allow an attacker who gains physical access to your system to disable the security-related services
and gain access to the system.
To prevent users from starting up the system interactively, as root, disable the PROMPT parameter in
the /etc/sysconfig/init file:
PROMPT=no
4.2.6. Protecting Hard and Symbolic Links

To prevent malicious users from exploiting potential vulnerabilities caused by unprotected hard and
symbolic links, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 includes a feature that only allows links to be created or
followed provided certain conditions are met.
In case of hard links, one of the following needs to be true:
The user owns the file to which they link.
The user already has read and write access to the file to which they link.
In case of symbolic links, processes are only permitted to follow links when outside of world-writeable
directories with sticky bits, or one of the following needs to be true:
40
The process following the symbolic link is the owner of the symbolic link.
The owner of the directory is the same as the owner of the symbolic link.
This protection is turned on by default. It is controlled by the following options in the

/usr/lib/sysctl.d/50-default.conf file:
fs.protected_hardlinks = 1
fs.protected_symlinks = 1
To override the default settings and disable the protection, create a new configuration file called, for
example, 51-no-protect-links.conf in the /etc/sysctl.d/ directory with the following content:
fs.protected_hardlinks = 0
fs.protected_symlinks = 0
NOTE
Note that in order to override the default system settings, the new configuration file needs
to have the .conf extension, and it needs to be read after the default system file (the files
are read in lexicographic order, therefore settings contained in a file with a higher number
at the beginning of the file name take precedence).
See the sysctl.d(5) manual page for more detailed information about the configuration of kernel
parameters at boot using the sysctl mechanism.
4.3. SECURING SERVICES

While user access to administrative controls is an important issue for system administrators within an
organization, monitoring which network services are active is of paramount importance to anyone who
administers and operates a Linux system.
Many services under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are network servers. If a network service is running on
a machine, then a server application (called a daemon), is listening for connections on one or more
network ports. Each of these servers should be treated as a potential avenue of attack.
4.3.1. Risks To Services

Network services can pose many risks for Linux systems. Below is a list of some of the primary issues:
Denial of Service Attacks (DoS) — By flooding a service with requests, a denial of service attack
can render a system unusable as it tries to log and answer each request.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS) — A type of DoS attack which uses multiple
compromised machines (often numbering in the thousands or more) to direct a coordinated
attack on a service, flooding it with requests and making it unusable.
Script Vulnerability Attacks — If a server is using scripts to execute server-side actions, as Web
servers commonly do, an attacker can target improperly written scripts. These script vulnerability
attacks can lead to a buffer overflow condition or allow the attacker to alter files on the system.
Buffer Overflow Attacks — Services that want to listen on ports 1 through 1023 must start either
with administrative privileges or the CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE capability needs to be set for
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Security Guide
them. Once a process is bound to a port and is listening on it, the privileges or the capability are
often dropped. If the privileges or the capability are not dropped, and the application has an
exploitable buffer overflow, an attacker could gain access to the system as the user running the
daemon. Because exploitable buffer overflows exist, crackers use automated tools to identify
systems with vulnerabilities, and once they have gained access, they use automated rootkits to
maintain their access to the system.
NOTE
The threat of buffer overflow vulnerabilities is mitigated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 by
ExecShield, an executable memory segmentation and protection technology supported by
x86-compatible uni- and multi-processor kernels. ExecShield reduces the risk of buffer
overflow by separating virtual memory into executable and non-executable segments. Any
program code that tries to execute outside of the executable segment (such as malicious
code injected from a buffer overflow exploit) triggers a segmentation fault and terminates.
Execshield also includes support for No eXecute (NX) technology on AMD64 platforms
and Intel® 64 systems. These technologies work in conjunction with ExecShield to
prevent malicious code from running in the executable portion of virtual memory with a
granularity of 4KB of executable code, lowering the risk of attack from buffer overflow
exploits.
IMPORTANT
To limit exposure to attacks over the network, all services that are unused should be
turned off.
4.3.2. Identifying and Configuring Services

To enhance security, most network services installed with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are turned off by
default. There are, however, some notable exceptions:
cups — The default print server for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
cups-lpd — An alternative print server.
xinetd — A super server that controls connections to a range of subordinate servers, such as
gssftp and telnet.
sshd — The OpenSSH server, which is a secure replacement for Telnet.
When determining whether to leave these services running, it is best to use common sense and avoid
taking any risks. For example, if a printer is not available, do not leave cups running. The same is true
for portreserve. If you do not mount NFSv3 volumes or use NIS (the ypbind service), then rpcbind
should be disabled. Checking which network services are available to start at boot time is not sufficient. It
is recommended to also check which ports are open and listening. Refer to Section 4.4.2, “Verifying
Which Ports Are Listening” for more information.
4.3.3. Insecure Services

Potentially, any network service is insecure. This is why turning off unused services is so important.
Exploits for services are routinely revealed and patched, making it very important to regularly update
packages associated with any network service. See Chapter 3, Keeping Your System Up-to-Date for
more information.
42
Some network protocols are inherently more insecure than others. These include any services that:
Transmit Usernames and Passwords Over a Network Unencrypted — Many older protocols,
such as Telnet and FTP, do not encrypt the authentication session and should be avoided
whenever possible.
Transmit Sensitive Data Over a Network Unencrypted — Many protocols transmit data over the
network unencrypted. These protocols include Telnet, FTP, HTTP, and SMTP. Many network
file systems, such as NFS and SMB, also transmit information over the network unencrypted. It
is the user's responsibility when using these protocols to limit what type of data is transmitted.
Examples of inherently insecure services include rlogin, rsh, telnet, and vsftpd.
All remote login and shell programs (rlogin, rsh, and telnet) should be avoided in favor of SSH. See
Section 4.3.11, “Securing SSH” for more information about sshd.
FTP is not as inherently dangerous to the security of the system as remote shells, but FTP servers must
be carefully configured and monitored to avoid problems. See Section 4.3.9, “Securing FTP” for more
information about securing FTP servers.
Services that should be carefully implemented and behind a firewall include:
auth
nfs-server
smb and nbm (Samba)
yppasswdd
ypserv
ypxfrd
More information on securing network services is available in Section 4.4, “Securing Network Access”.
4.3.4. Securing rpcbind

The rpcbind service is a dynamic port assignment daemon for RPC services such as NIS and NFS. It
has weak authentication mechanisms and has the ability to assign a wide range of ports for the services
it controls. For these reasons, it is difficult to secure.
NOTE
Securing rpcbind only affects NFSv2 and NFSv3 implementations, since NFSv4 no
longer requires it. If you plan to implement an NFSv2 or NFSv3 server, then rpcbind is
required, and the following section applies.
If running RPC services, follow these basic rules.
4.3.4.1. Protect rpcbind With TCP Wrappers
It is important to use TCP Wrappers to limit which networks or hosts have access to the rpcbind
service since it has no built-in form of authentication.
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Security Guide
Further, use only IP addresses when limiting access to the service. Avoid using host names, as they can
be forged by DNS poisoning and other methods.
4.3.4.2. Protect rpcbind With firewalld
To further restrict access to the rpcbind service, it is a good idea to add firewalld rules to the server
and restrict access to specific networks.
Below are two example firewalld rich language commands. The first allows TCP connections to the
port 111 (used by the rpcbind service) from the 192.168.0.0/24 network. The second allows TCP
connections to the same port from the localhost. All other packets are dropped.
~]# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" port port="111"

protocol="tcp" source address="192.168.0.0/24" invert="True" drop'
protocol="tcp" source address="127.0.0.1" accept'
To similarly limit UDP traffic, use the following command:

protocol="udp" source address="192.168.0.0/24" invert="True" drop'
NOTE
Add --permanent to the firewalld rich language commands to make the settings
permanent. See Chapter 5, Using Firewalls for more information about implementing
firewalls.
4.3.5. Securing rpc.mountd

The rpc.mountd daemon implements the server side of the NFS MOUNT protocol, a protocol used by
NFS version 2 (RFC 1904) and NFS version 3 (RFC 1813).
If running RPC services, follow these basic rules.
4.3.5.1. Protect rpc.mountd With TCP Wrappers
It is important to use TCP Wrappers to limit which networks or hosts have access to the rpc.mountd
service since it has no built-in form of authentication.
Further, use only IP addresses when limiting access to the service. Avoid using host names, as they can
be forged by DNS poisoning and other methods.
4.3.5.2. Protect rpc.mountd With firewalld
To further restrict access to the rpc.mountd service, add firewalld rich language rules to the server
and restrict access to specific networks.
Below are two example firewalld rich language commands. The first allows mountd connections
from the 192.168.0.0/24 network. The second allows mountd connections from the local host. All
other packets are dropped.
~]# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule 'rule family="ipv4" source NOT
44
address="192.168.0.0/24" service name="mountd" drop'

~]# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule 'rule family="ipv4" source
address="127.0.0.1" service name="mountd" accept'
NOTE
Add --permanent to the firewalld rich language commands to make the settings
permanent. See Chapter 5, Using Firewalls for more information about implementing
firewalls.
4.3.6. Securing NIS

The Network Information Service (NIS) is an RPC service, called ypserv, which is used in conjunction
with rpcbind and other related services to distribute maps of user names, passwords, and other
sensitive information to any computer claiming to be within its domain.
A NIS server is comprised of several applications. They include the following:
/usr/sbin/rpc.yppasswdd — Also called the yppasswdd service, this daemon allows

users to change their NIS passwords.
/usr/sbin/rpc.ypxfrd — Also called the ypxfrd service, this daemon is responsible for
NIS map transfers over the network.
/usr/sbin/ypserv — This is the NIS server daemon.
NIS is somewhat insecure by today's standards. It has no host authentication mechanisms and transmits
all of its information over the network unencrypted, including password hashes. As a result, extreme care
must be taken when setting up a network that uses NIS. This is further complicated by the fact that the
default configuration of NIS is inherently insecure.
It is recommended that anyone planning to implement a NIS server first secure the rpcbind service as
outlined in Section 4.3.4, “Securing rpcbind”, then address the following issues, such as network
planning.
4.3.6.1. Carefully Plan the Network
Because NIS transmits sensitive information unencrypted over the network, it is important the service be
run behind a firewall and on a segmented and secure network. Whenever NIS information is transmitted
over an insecure network, it risks being intercepted. Careful network design can help prevent severe
security breaches.
4.3.6.2. Use a Password-like NIS Domain Name and Hostname
Any machine within a NIS domain can use commands to extract information from the server without
authentication, as long as the user knows the NIS server's DNS host name and NIS domain name.
For instance, if someone either connects a laptop computer into the network or breaks into the network
from outside (and manages to spoof an internal IP address), the following command reveals the
/etc/passwd map:
ypcat -d <NIS_domain> -h <DNS_hostname> passwd
If this attacker is a root user, they can obtain the /etc/shadow file by typing the following command:
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Security Guide
ypcat -d <NIS_domain> -h <DNS_hostname> shadow
NOTE
If Kerberos is used, the /etc/shadow file is not stored within a NIS map.
To make access to NIS maps harder for an attacker, create a random string for the DNS host name,
such as o7hfawtgmhwg.domain.com. Similarly, create a different randomized NIS domain name. This
makes it much more difficult for an attacker to access the NIS server.
4.3.6.3. Edit the /var/yp/securenets File
If the /var/yp/securenets file is blank or does not exist (as is the case after a default installation),
NIS listens to all networks. One of the first things to do is to put netmask/network pairs in the file so that
ypserv only responds to requests from the appropriate network.
Below is a sample entry from a /var/yp/securenets file:
255.255.255.0 192.168.0.0

WARNING
Never start a NIS server for the first time without creating the
/var/yp/securenets file.
This technique does not provide protection from an IP spoofing attack, but it does at least place limits on
what networks the NIS server services.
4.3.6.4. Assign Static Ports and Use Rich Language Rules
All of the servers related to NIS can be assigned specific ports except for rpc.yppasswdd — the
daemon that allows users to change their login passwords. Assigning ports to the other two NIS server
daemons, rpc.ypxfrd and ypserv, allows for the creation of firewall rules to further protect the NIS
server daemons from intruders.
To do this, add the following lines to /etc/sysconfig/network:
YPSERV_ARGS="-p 834"
YPXFRD_ARGS="-p 835"
The following rich language firewalld rules can then be used to enforce which network the server
listens to for these ports:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" source

address="192.168.0.0/24" invert="True" port port="834-835" protocol="tcp"
drop'
46
~]# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" source

address="192.168.0.0/24" invert="True" port port="834-835" protocol="udp"
drop'
This means that the server only allows connections to ports 834 and 835 if the requests come from the
192.168.0.0/24 network. The first rule is for TCP and the second for UDP.
NOTE
See Chapter 5, Using Firewalls for more information about implementing firewalls with
iptables commands.
4.3.6.5. Use Kerberos Authentication
One of the issues to consider when NIS is used for authentication is that whenever a user logs into a
machine, a password hash from the /etc/shadow map is sent over the network. If an intruder gains
access to a NIS domain and sniffs network traffic, they can collect user names and password hashes.
With enough time, a password cracking program can guess weak passwords, and an attacker can gain
access to a valid account on the network.
Since Kerberos uses secret-key cryptography, no password hashes are ever sent over the network,
making the system far more secure. See the Logging into IdM Using Kerberos section in the Linux
Domain Identity, Authentication, and Policy Guide for more information about Kerberos.
4.3.7. Securing NFS
IMPORTANT
NFS traffic can be sent using TCP in all versions, it should be used with NFSv3, rather
than UDP, and is required when using NFSv4. All versions of NFS support Kerberos user
and group authentication, as part of the RPCSEC_GSS kernel module. Information on
rpcbind is still included, since Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 supports NFSv3 which utilizes
rpcbind.
4.3.7.1. Carefully Plan the Network
NFSv2 and NFSv3 traditionally passed data insecurely. All versions of NFS now have the ability to
authenticate (and optionally encrypt) ordinary file system operations using Kerberos. Under NFSv4 all
operations can use Kerberos; under NFSv2 or NFSv3, file locking and mounting still do not use it. When
using NFSv4.0, delegations may be turned off if the clients are behind NAT or a firewall. For information
on the use of NFSv4.1 to allow delegations to operate through NAT and firewalls, see the pNFS section
of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Storage Administration Guide.
4.3.7.2. Securing NFS Mount Options
The use of the mount command in the /etc/fstab file is explained in the Using the mount Command
chapter of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Storage Administration Guide. From a security administration
point of view it is worthwhile to note that the NFS mount options can also be specified in
/etc/nfsmount.conf, which can be used to set custom default options.
4.3.7.2.1. Review the NFS Server
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Security Guide

WARNING
Only export entire file systems. Exporting a subdirectory of a file system can be a
security issue. It is possible in some cases for a client to "break out" of the exported
part of the file system and get to unexported parts (see the section on subtree
checking in the exports(5) man page.
Use the ro option to export the file system as read-only whenever possible to reduce the number of
users able to write to the mounted file system. Only use the rw option when specifically required. See the
man exports(5) page for more information. Allowing write access increases the risk from symlink
attacks for example. This includes temporary directories such as /tmp and /usr/tmp.
Where directories must be mounted with the rw option avoid making them world-writable whenever
possible to reduce risk. Exporting home directories is also viewed as a risk as some applications store
passwords in clear text or weakly encrypted. This risk is being reduced as application code is reviewed
and improved. Some users do not set passwords on their SSH keys so this too means home directories
present a risk. Enforcing the use of passwords or using Kerberos would mitigate that risk.
Restrict exports only to clients that need access. Use the showmount -e command on an NFS server to
review what the server is exporting. Do not export anything that is not specifically required.
Do not use the no_root_squash option and review existing installations to make sure it is not used.
See Section 4.3.7.4, “Do Not Use the no_root_squash Option” for more information.
The secure option is the server-side export option used to restrict exports to “reserved” ports. By
default, the server allows client communication only from “reserved” ports (ports numbered less than
1024), because traditionally clients have only allowed “trusted” code (such as in-kernel NFS clients) to
use those ports. However, on many networks it is not difficult for anyone to become root on some client,
so it is rarely safe for the server to assume that communication from a reserved port is privileged.
Therefore the restriction to reserved ports is of limited value; it is better to rely on Kerberos, firewalls, and
restriction of exports to particular clients.
Most clients still do use reserved ports when possible. However, reserved ports are a limited resource,
so clients (especially those with a large number of NFS mounts) may choose to use higher-numbered
ports as well. Linux clients may do this using the “noresvport” mount option. If you want to allow this on
an export, you may do so with the “insecure” export option.
It is good practice not to allow users to login to a server. While reviewing the above settings on an NFS
server conduct a review of who and what can access the server.
4.3.7.2.2. Review the NFS Client
Use the nosuid option to disallow the use of a setuid program. The nosuid option disables the set-
user-identifier or set-group-identifier bits. This prevents remote users from gaining higher
privileges by running a setuid program. Use this option on the client and the server side.
The noexec option disables all executable files on the client. Use this to prevent users from
inadvertently executing files placed in the file system being shared. The nosuid and noexec options
are standard options for most, if not all, file systems.
Use the nodev option to prevent “device-files” from being processed as a hardware device by the client.
48
The resvport option is a client-side mount option and secure is the corresponding server-side export
option (see explanation above). It restricts communication to a "reserved port". The reserved or "well
known" ports are reserved for privileged users and processes such as the root user. Setting this option
causes the client to use a reserved source port to communicate with the server.
All versions of NFS now support mounting with Kerberos authentication. The mount option to enable this
is: sec=krb5.
NFSv4 supports mounting with Kerberos using krb5i for integrity and krb5p for privacy protection.
These are used when mounting with sec=krb5, but need to be configured on the NFS server. See the
man page on exports (man 5 exports) for more information.
The NFS man page (man 5 nfs) has a “SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS” section which explains the
security enhancements in NFSv4 and contains all the NFS specific mount options.
4.3.7.3. Beware of Syntax Errors
The NFS server determines which file systems to export and which hosts to export these directories to
by consulting the /etc/exports file. Be careful not to add extraneous spaces when editing this file.
For instance, the following line in the /etc/exports file shares the directory /tmp/nfs/ to the host
bob.example.com with read/write permissions.
/tmp/nfs/ bob.example.com(rw)
The following line in the /etc/exports file, on the other hand, shares the same directory to the host
bob.example.com with read-only permissions and shares it to the world with read/write permissions
due to a single space character after the host name.
/tmp/nfs/ bob.example.com (rw)
It is good practice to check any configured NFS shares by using the showmount command to verify what
is being shared:
showmount -e <hostname>
4.3.7.4. Do Not Use the no_root_squash Option
By default, NFS shares change the root user to the nfsnobody user, an unprivileged user account. This
changes the owner of all root-created files to nfsnobody, which prevents uploading of programs with
the setuid bit set.
If no_root_squash is used, remote root users are able to change any file on the shared file system and
leave applications infected by Trojans for other users to inadvertently execute.
4.3.7.5. NFS Firewall Configuration
NFSv4 is the default version of NFS for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and it only requires port 2049 to be
open for TCP. If using NFSv3 then four additional ports are required as explained below.
Configuring Ports for NFSv3
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Security Guide
The ports used for NFS are assigned dynamically by the rpcbind service, which might cause problems
when creating firewall rules. To simplify this process, use the /etc/sysconfig/nfs file to specify
which ports are to be used:
MOUNTD_PORT — TCP and UDP port for mountd (rpc.mountd)
STATD_PORT — TCP and UDP port for status (rpc.statd)
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, set the TCP and UDP port for the NFS lock manager (nlockmgr) in the
/etc/modprobe.d/lockd.conf file:
nlm_tcpport — TCP port for nlockmgr (rpc.lockd)
nlm_udpport — UDP port nlockmgr (rpc.lockd)
Port numbers specified must not be used by any other service. Configure your firewall to allow the port
numbers specified, as well as TCP and UDP port 2049 (NFS). See /etc/modprobe.d/lockd.conf
for descriptions of additional customizable NFS lock manager parameters.
Run the rpcinfo -p command on the NFS server to see which ports and RPC programs are being
used.
4.3.7.6. Securing NFS with Red Hat Identity Management
Kerberos-aware NFS setup can be greatly simplified in an environment that is using Red Hat Identity
Management, which is included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
See the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Linux Domain Identity, Authentication, and Policy Guide, in particular
Setting up a Kerberos-aware NFS Server to learn how to secure NFS with Kerberos when using Red Hat
Identity Management.
4.3.8. Securing HTTP Servers
4.3.8.1. Securing the Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server is one of the most stable and secure services in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. A
large number of options and techniques are available to secure the Apache HTTP Server — too
numerous to delve into deeply here. The following section briefly explains good practices when running
the Apache HTTP Server.
Always verify that any scripts running on the system work as intended before putting them into
production. Also, ensure that only the root user has write permissions to any directory containing scripts
or CGIs. To do this, enter the following commands as the root user:
chown root <directory_name>
chmod 755 <directory_name>
System administrators should be careful when using the following configuration options (configured in
/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf):
FollowSymLinks
This directive is enabled by default, so be sure to use caution when creating symbolic links to the
document root of the Web server. For instance, it is a bad idea to provide a symbolic link to /.
50
Indexes
This directive is enabled by default, but may not be desirable. To prevent visitors from browsing files
on the server, remove this directive.
UserDir
The UserDir directive is disabled by default because it can confirm the presence of a user account
on the system. To enable user directory browsing on the server, use the following directives:
UserDir enabled
UserDir disabled root
These directives activate user directory browsing for all user directories other than /root/. To add
users to the list of disabled accounts, add a space-delimited list of users on the UserDir disabled
line.
ServerTokens
The ServerTokens directive controls the server response header field which is sent back to clients.
It includes various information which can be customized using the following parameters:
ServerTokens Full (default option) — provides all available information (OS type and
used modules), for example:
Apache/2.0.41 (Unix) PHP/4.2.2 MyMod/1.2
ServerTokens Prod or ServerTokens ProductOnly — provides the following

information:
Apache
ServerTokens Major — provides the following information:
Apache/2
ServerTokens Minor — provides the following information:
Apache/2.0
ServerTokens Min or ServerTokens Minimal — provides the following information:
Apache/2.0.41
ServerTokens OS — provides the following information:
Apache/2.0.41 (Unix)
It is recommended to use the ServerTokens Prod option so that a possible attacker does not gain
any valuable information about your system.
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Security Guide
IMPORTANT
Do not remove the IncludesNoExec directive. By default, the Server-Side Includes

(SSI) module cannot execute commands. It is recommended that you do not change this
setting unless absolutely necessary, as it could, potentially, enable an attacker to execute
commands on the system.
Removing httpd Modules

In certain scenarios, it is beneficial to remove certain httpd modules to limit the functionality of the
HTTP Server. To do so, edit configuration files in the /etc/httpd/conf.modules.d directory. For
example, to remove the proxy module:
echo '# All proxy modules disabled' > /etc/httpd/conf.modules.d/00-

proxy.conf
Note that the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ directory contains configuration files which are used to load
modules as well.
httpd and SELinux

For information, see the The Apache HTTP Server and SELinux chapter from the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7 SELinux User's and Administrator's Guide.
4.3.8.2. Securing NGINX
NGINX is a high-performance HTTP and proxy server. This section briefly documents additional steps
that harden your NGINX configuration. Perform all of the following configuration changes in the server
section of your NGINX configuration files.
Disabling Version Strings

To prevent attackers from learning the version of NGINX running on your server, use the following
configuration option:
server_tokens off;
This has the effect of removing the version number and simply reporting the string nginx in all requests
served by NGINX:
$ curl -sI http://localhost | grep Server

Server: nginx
Including Additional Security-related Headers

Each request served by NGINX can include additional HTTP headers that mitigate certain known web
application vulnerabilities:
add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN; — this option denies any page outside of

your domain to frame any content served by NGINX, effectively mitigating clickjacking attacks.
add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff; — this option prevents MIME-type

sniffing in certain older browsers.
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"; — this option enables the Cross-

Site Scripting (XSS) filtering, which prevents a browser from rendering potentially malicious
content included in a response by NGINX.
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Disabling Potentially Harmful HTTP Methods

If enabled, some of the HTTP methods may allow an attacker to perform actions on the web server that
were designed for developers to test web applications. For example, the TRACE method is known to
allow Cross-Site Tracing (XST).
Your NGINX server can disallow these harmful HTTP methods as well as any arbitrary methods by
whitelisting only those that should be allowed. For example:
# Allow GET, PUT, POST; return "405 Method Not Allowed" for all others.
if ( $request_method !~ ^(GET|PUT|POST)$ ) {
return 405;
}
Configuring SSL
To protect the data served by your NGINX web server, consider serving it over HTTPS only. To generate
a secure configuration profile for enabling SSL in your NGINX server, see the Mozilla SSL Configuration
Generator. The generated configuration assures that known vulnerable protocols (for example, SSLv2 or
SSLv3), ciphers, and hashing algorithms (for example, 3DES or MD5) are disabled.
You can also use the SSL Server Test to verify that your configuration meets modern security
requirements.
4.3.9. Securing FTP

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is an older TCP protocol designed to transfer files over a network.
Because all transactions with the server, including user authentication, are unencrypted, it is considered
an insecure protocol and should be carefully configured.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 provides two FTP servers:
Red Hat Content Accelerator (tux) — A kernel-space Web server with FTP capabilities.
vsftpd — A standalone, security oriented implementation of the FTP service.
The following security guidelines are for setting up the vsftpd FTP service.
4.3.9.1. FTP Greeting Banner
Before submitting a user name and password, all users are presented with a greeting banner. By default,
this banner includes version information useful to crackers trying to identify weaknesses in a system.
To change the greeting banner for vsftpd, add the following directive to the
/etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file:
ftpd_banner=<insert_greeting_here>
Replace <insert_greeting_here> in the above directive with the text of the greeting message.
For mutli-line banners, it is best to use a banner file. To simplify management of multiple banners, place
all banners in a new directory called /etc/banners/. The banner file for FTP connections in this
example is /etc/banners/ftp.msg. Below is an example of what such a file may look like:
######### Hello, all activity on ftp.example.com is logged. #########
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Security Guide
NOTE
It is not necessary to begin each line of the file with 220 as specified in Section 4.4.1,
“Securing Services With TCP Wrappers and xinetd”.
To reference this greeting banner file for vsftpd, add the following directive to the
/etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file:
banner_file=/etc/banners/ftp.msg
It also is possible to send additional banners to incoming connections using TCP Wrappers as described
in Section 4.4.1.1, “TCP Wrappers and Connection Banners”.
4.3.9.2. Anonymous Access
The presence of the /var/ftp/ directory activates the anonymous account.
The easiest way to create this directory is to install the vsftpd package. This package establishes a
directory tree for anonymous users and configures the permissions on directories to read-only for
anonymous users.
By default the anonymous user cannot write to any directories.

WARNING
If enabling anonymous access to an FTP server, be aware of where sensitive data is

stored.
4.3.9.2.1. Anonymous Upload
To allow anonymous users to upload files, it is recommended that a write-only directory be created within
/var/ftp/pub/. To do this, enter the following command as root:
~]# mkdir /var/ftp/pub/upload
Next, change the permissions so that anonymous users cannot view the contents of the directory:
~]# chmod 730 /var/ftp/pub/upload
A long format listing of the directory should look like this:
~]# ls -ld /var/ftp/pub/upload

drwx-wx---. 2 root ftp 4096 Nov 14 22:57 /var/ftp/pub/upload
Administrators who allow anonymous users to read and write in directories often find that their servers
become a repository of stolen software.
Additionally, under vsftpd, add the following line to the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file:
54
anon_upload_enable=YES
4.3.9.3. User Accounts
Because FTP transmits unencrypted user names and passwords over insecure networks for
authentication, it is a good idea to deny system users access to the server from their user accounts.
To disable all user accounts in vsftpd, add the following directive to /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf:
local_enable=NO
4.3.9.3.1. Restricting User Accounts
To disable FTP access for specific accounts or specific groups of accounts, such as the root user and
those with sudo privileges, the easiest way is to use a PAM list file as described in Section 4.2.1,
“Disallowing Root Access”. The PAM configuration file for vsftpd is /etc/pam.d/vsftpd.
It is also possible to disable user accounts within each service directly.
To disable specific user accounts in vsftpd, add the user name to /etc/vsftpd/ftpusers
4.3.9.4. Use TCP Wrappers To Control Access
Use TCP Wrappers to control access to either FTP daemon as outlined in Section 4.4.1, “Securing
Services With TCP Wrappers and xinetd”.
4.3.10. Securing Postfix

Postfix is a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) that uses the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to deliver
electronic messages between other MTAs and to email clients or delivery agents. Although many MTAs
are capable of encrypting traffic between one another, most do not, so sending email over any public
networks is considered an inherently insecure form of communication. Postfix replaces Sendmail as the
default MTA in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
It is recommended that anyone planning to implement a Postfix server address the following issues.
4.3.10.1. Limiting a Denial of Service Attack
Because of the nature of email, a determined attacker can flood the server with mail fairly easily and
cause a denial of service. The effectiveness of such attacks can be limited by setting limits of the
directives in the /etc/postfix/main.cf file. You can change the value of the directives which are
already there or you can add the directives you need with the value you want in the following format:
<directive> = <value>
. The following is a list of directives that can be used for limiting a denial of service attack:
smtpd_client_connection_rate_limit — The maximum number of connection attempts

any client is allowed to make to this service per time unit (described below). The default value is
0, which means a client can make as many connections per time unit as Postfix can accept. By
default, clients in trusted networks are excluded.
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Security Guide
anvil_rate_time_unit — This time unit is used for rate limit calculations. The default value
is 60 seconds.
smtpd_client_event_limit_exceptions — Clients that are excluded from the connection

and rate limit commands. By default, clients in trusted networks are excluded.
smtpd_client_message_rate_limit — The maximum number of message deliveries a

client is allowed to request per time unit (regardless of whether or not Postfix actually accepts
those messages).
default_process_limit — The default maximum number of Postfix child processes that

provide a given service. This limit can be overruled for specific services in the master.cf file.
By default the value is 100.
queue_minfree — The minimum amount of free space in bytes in the queue file system that is
needed to receive mail. This is currently used by the Postfix SMTP server to decide if it will
accept any mail at all. By default, the Postfix SMTP server rejects MAIL FROM commands when
the amount of free space is less than 1.5 times the message_size_limit. To specify a higher
minimum free space limit, specify a queue_minfree value that is at least 1.5 times the
message_size_limit. By default the queue_minfree value is 0.
header_size_limit — The maximum amount of memory in bytes for storing a message

header. If a header is larger, the excess is discarded. By default the value is 102400.
message_size_limit — The maximum size in bytes of a message, including envelope

information. By default the value is 10240000.
4.3.10.2. NFS and Postfix
Never put the mail spool directory, /var/spool/postfix/, on an NFS shared volume. Because
NFSv2 and NFSv3 do not maintain control over user and group IDs, two or more users can have the
same UID, and receive and read each other's mail.
NOTE
With NFSv4 using Kerberos, this is not the case, since the SECRPC_GSS kernel module
does not utilize UID-based authentication. However, it is still considered good practice not
to put the mail spool directory on NFS shared volumes.
4.3.10.3. Mail-only Users
To help prevent local user exploits on the Postfix server, it is best for mail users to only access the
Postfix server using an email program. Shell accounts on the mail server should not be allowed and all
user shells in the /etc/passwd file should be set to /sbin/nologin (with the possible exception of
the root user).
4.3.10.4. Disable Postfix Network Listening
By default, Postfix is set up to only listen to the local loopback address. You can verify this by viewing
the file /etc/postfix/main.cf.
View the file /etc/postfix/main.cf to ensure that only the following inet_interfaces line
appears:
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inet_interfaces = localhost
This ensures that Postfix only accepts mail messages (such as cron job reports) from the local system
and not from the network. This is the default setting and protects Postfix from a network attack.
For removal of the localhost restriction and allowing Postfix to listen on all interfaces the
inet_interfaces = all setting can be used.
4.3.10.5. Configuring Postfix to Use SASL
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 version of Postfix can use the Dovecot or Cyrus SASL implementations
for SMTP Authentication (or SMTP AUTH). SMTP Authentication is an extension of the Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol. When enabled, SMTP clients are required to authenticate to the SMTP server
using an authentication method supported and accepted by both the server and the client. This section
describes how to configure Postfix to make use of the Dovecot SASL implementation.
To install the Dovecot POP/IMAP server, and thus make the Dovecot SASL implementation available on
your system, issue the following command as the root user:
~]# yum install dovecot
The Postfix SMTP server can communicate with the Dovecot SASL implementation using either a UNIX-
domain socket or a TCP socket. The latter method is only needed in case the Postfix and Dovecot
applications are running on separate machines. This guide gives preference to the UNIX-domain socket
method, which affords better privacy.
In order to instruct Postfix to use the Dovecot SASL implementation, a number of configuration changes
need to be performed for both applications. Follow the procedures below to effect these changes.
Setting Up Dovecot
1. Modify the main Dovecot configuration file, /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-master.conf, to

include the following lines (the default configuration file already includes most of the relevant
section, and the lines just need to be uncommented):
service auth {
unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/auth {
mode = 0660
user = postfix
group = postfix
}
}
The above example assumes the use of UNIX-domain sockets for communication between
Postfix and Dovecot. It also assumes default settings of the Postfix SMTP server, which include
the mail queue located in the /var/spool/postfix/ directory, and the application running
under the postfix user and group. In this way, read and write permissions are limited to the
postfix user and group.
Alternatively, you can use the following configuration to set up Dovecot to listen for Postfix
authentication requests through TCP:
service auth {
inet_listener {
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Security Guide
port = 12345
}
}
In the above example, replace 12345 with the number of the port you want to use.
2. Edit the /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-auth.conf configuration file to instruct Dovecot to

provide the Postfix SMTP server with the plain and login authentication mechanisms:
auth_mechanisms = plain login
Setting Up Postfix
In the case of Postfix, only the main configuration file, /etc/postfix/main.cf, needs to be modified.
Add or edit the following configuration directives:
1. Enable SMTP Authentication in the Postfix SMTP server:
smtpd_sasl_auth_enable = yes
2. Instruct Postfix to use the Dovecot SASL implementation for SMTP Authentication:
smtpd_sasl_type = dovecot
3. Provide the authentication path relative to the Postfix queue directory (note that the use of a
relative path ensures that the configuration works regardless of whether the Postfix server runs
in a chroot or not):
smtpd_sasl_path = private/auth
This step assumes that you want to use UNIX-domain sockets for communication between
Postfix and Dovecot. To configure Postfix to look for Dovecot on a different machine in case
you use TCP sockets for communication, use configuration values similar to the following:
smtpd_sasl_path = inet:127.0.0.1:12345
In the above example, 127.0.0.1 needs to be substituted by the IP address of the Dovecot
machine and 12345 by the port specified in Dovecot's /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-
master.conf configuration file.
4. Specify SASL mechanisms that the Postfix SMTP server makes available to clients. Note that
different mechanisms can be specified for encrypted and unencrypted sessions.
smtpd_sasl_security_options = noanonymous, noplaintext

smtpd_sasl_tls_security_options = noanonymous
The above example specifies that during unencrypted sessions, no anonymous authentication is
allowed and no mechanisms that transmit unencrypted user names or passwords are allowed.
For encrypted sessions (using TLS), only non-anonymous authentication mechanisms are
allowed.
See http://www.postfix.org/SASL_README.html#smtpd_sasl_security_options for a list of all

supported policies for limiting allowed SASL mechanisms.
58
Additional Resources
The following online resources provide additional information useful for configuring Postfix SMTP
Authentication through SASL.
http://wiki2.dovecot.org/HowTo/PostfixAndDovecotSASL — Contains information on how to set

up Postfix to use the Dovecot SASL implementation for SMTP Authentication.
http://www.postfix.org/SASL_README.html#server_sasl — Contains information on how to set

up Postfix to use either the Dovecot or Cyrus SASL implementations for SMTP Authentication.
4.3.11. Securing SSH

Secure Shell (SSH) is a powerful network protocol used to communicate with another system over a
secure channel. The transmissions over SSH are encrypted and protected from interception. See the
OpenSSH chapter of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide for general
information about the SSH protocol and about using the SSH service in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
IMPORTANT
This section draws attention to the most common ways of securing an SSH setup. By no
means should this list of suggested measures be considered exhaustive or definitive. See
sshd_config(5) for a description of all configuration directives available for modifying
the behavior of the sshd daemon and to ssh(1) for an explanation of basic SSH
concepts.
4.3.11.1. Cryptographic Login
SSH supports the use of cryptographic keys for logging in to computers. This is much more secure than
using only a password. If you combine this method with other authentication methods, it can be
considered a multi-factor authentication. See Section 4.3.11.2, “Multiple Authentication Methods” for
more information about using multiple authentication methods.
In order to enable the use of cryptographic keys for authentication, the PubkeyAuthentication
configuration directive in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file needs to be set to yes. Note that this is the
default setting. Set the PasswordAuthentication directive to no to disable the possibility of using
passwords for logging in.
SSH keys can be generated using the ssh-keygen command. If invoked without additional arguments,
it creates a 2048-bit RSA key set. The keys are stored, by default, in the ~/.ssh/ directory. You can
utilize the -b switch to modify the bit-strength of the key. Using 2048-bit keys is normally sufficient. The
Configuring OpenSSH chapter in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide includes
detailed information about generating key pairs.
You should see the two keys in your ~/.ssh/ directory. If you accepted the defaults when running the
ssh-keygen command, then the generated files are named id_rsa and id_rsa.pub and contain the
private and public key respectively. You should always protect the private key from exposure by making
it unreadable by anyone else but the file's owner. The public key, however, needs to be transferred to the
system you are going to log in to. You can use the ssh-copy-id command to transfer the key to the
server:
~]$ ssh-copy-id -i [user@]server
This command will also automatically append the public key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on
the server. The sshd daemon will check this file when you attempt to log in to the server.
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Security Guide
Similarly to passwords and any other authentication mechanism, you should change your SSH keys
regularly. When you do, make sure you remove any unused keys from the authorized_keys file.
4.3.11.2. Multiple Authentication Methods
Using multiple authentication methods, or multi-factor authentication, increases the level of protection
against unauthorized access, and as such should be considered when hardening a system to prevent it
from being compromised. Users attempting to log in to a system that uses multi-factor authentication
must successfully complete all specified authentication methods in order to be granted access.
Use the AuthenticationMethods configuration directive in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file to

specify which authentication methods are to be utilized. Note that it is possible to define more than one
list of required authentication methods using this directive. If that is the case, the user must complete
every method in at least one of the lists. The lists need to be separated by blank spaces, and the
individual authentication-method names within the lists must be comma-separated. For example:
AuthenticationMethods publickey,gssapi-with-mic publickey,keyboard-

interactive
An sshd daemon configured using the above AuthenticationMethods directive only grants access if
the user attempting to log in successfully completes either publickey authentication followed by
gssapi-with-mic or by keyboard-interactive authentication. Note that each of the requested
authentication methods needs to be explicitly enabled using a corresponding configuration directive
(such as PubkeyAuthentication) in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file. See the AUTHENTICATION
section of ssh(1) for a general list of available authentication methods.
4.3.11.3. Other Ways of Securing SSH
Protocol Version
Even though the implementation of the SSH protocol supplied with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 still
supports both the SSH-1 and SSH-2 versions of the protocol for SSH clients, only the latter should be
used whenever possible. The SSH-2 version contains a number of improvements over the older SSH-1,
and the majority of advanced configuration options is only available when using SSH-2.
Red Hat recommends using SSH-2 to maximize the extent to which the SSH protocol protects the
authentication and communication for which it is used. The version or versions of the protocol supported
by the sshd daemon can be specified using the Protocol configuration directive in the
/etc/ssh/sshd_config file. The default setting is 2. Note that the SSH-2 version is the only version
supported by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 SSH server.
Key Types
While the ssh-keygen command generates a pair of SSH-2 RSA keys by default, using the -t option, it
can be instructed to generate DSA or ECDSA keys as well. The ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature
Algorithm) offers better performance at the same equivalent symmetric key length. It also generates
shorter keys.
Non-Default Port
By default, the sshd daemon listens on TCP port 22. Changing the port reduces the exposure of the
system to attacks based on automated network scanning, thus increasing security through obscurity.
The port can be specified using the Port directive in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file.
Note also that the default SELinux policy must be changed to allow for the use of a non-default port. You
can do this by modifying the ssh_port_t SELinux type by typing the following command as root:
~]# semanage -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp port_number
60
In the above command, replace port_number with the new port number specified using the Port
directive.
No Root Login
Provided that your particular use case does not require the possibility of logging in as the root user, you
should consider setting the PermitRootLogin configuration directive to no in the
/etc/ssh/sshd_config file. By disabling the possibility of logging in as the root user, the
administrator can audit which user runs what privileged command after they log in as regular users and
then gain root rights.
Using the ⁠X Security extension

The X server in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 clients does not provide the X Security extension. Therefore
clients cannot request another security layer when connecting to untrusted SSH servers with X11
forwarding. The most applications were not able to run with this extension enabled anyway. By default,
the ForwardX11Trusted option in the /etc/ssh/ssh_config file is set to yes, and there is no
difference between the ssh -X remote_machine (untrusted host) and ssh -Y remote_machine
(trusted host) command.

WARNING
Red Hat recommends not using X11 forwarding while connecting to untrusted hosts.
4.3.12. Securing PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an Object-Relational database management system (DBMS). In Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7, the postgresql-server package provides PostgreSQL. If it is not installed, enter the following
command as the root user to install it:
~]# yum install postgresql-server
Before you can start using PostgreSQL, you must initialize a database storage area on disk. This is
called a database cluster. To initialize a database cluster, use the command initdb, which is installed with
PostgreSQL. The desired file system location of your database cluster is indicated by the -D option. For
example:
~]$ initdb -D /home/postgresql/db1
The initdb command will attempt to create the directory you specify if it does not already exist. We
use the name /home/postgresql/db1 in this example. The /home/postgresql/db1 directory contains all the
data stored in the database and also the client authentication configuration file:
~]$ cat pg_hba.conf

# PostgreSQL Client Authentication Configuration File
# This file controls: which hosts are allowed to connect, how clients
# are authenticated, which PostgreSQL user names they can use, which
# databases they can access. Records take one of these forms:
#
# local DATABASE USER METHOD [OPTIONS]
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Security Guide
# host DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD [OPTIONS]

# hostssl DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD [OPTIONS]
# hostnossl DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD [OPTIONS]
The following line in the pg_hba.conf file allows any authenticated local users to access any
databases with their user names:
local all all trust
This can be problematic when you use layered applications that create database users and no local
users. If you do not want to explicitly control all user names on the system, remove this line from the
pg_hba.conf file.
4.3.13. Securing Docker

Docker is an open source project that automates the deployment of applications inside Linux Containers,
and provides the capability to package an application with its runtime dependencies into a container. To
make your Docker workflow more secure, follow procedures in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Atomic
Host 7 Container Security Guide.
4.4. SECURING NETWORK ACCESS
4.4.1. Securing Services With TCP Wrappers and xinetd

TCP Wrappers are capable of much more than denying access to services. This section illustrates how
they can be used to send connection banners, warn of attacks from particular hosts, and enhance
logging functionality. See the hosts_options(5) man page for information about the TCP Wrapper
functionality and control language. See the xinetd.conf(5) man page for the available flags, which act as
options you can apply to a service.
4.4.1.1. TCP Wrappers and Connection Banners
Displaying a suitable banner when users connect to a service is a good way to let potential attackers
know that the system administrator is being vigilant. You can also control what information about the
system is presented to users. To implement a TCP Wrappers banner for a service, use the banner
option.
This example implements a banner for vsftpd. To begin, create a banner file. It can be anywhere on
the system, but it must have same name as the daemon. For this example, the file is called
/etc/banners/vsftpd and contains the following lines:
220-Hello, %c
220-All activity on ftp.example.com is logged.
220-Inappropriate use will result in your access privileges being removed.
The %c token supplies a variety of client information, such as the user name and host name, or the user
name and IP address to make the connection even more intimidating.
For this banner to be displayed to incoming connections, add the following line to the
/etc/hosts.allow file:
vsftpd : ALL : banners /etc/banners/
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4.4.1.2. TCP Wrappers and Attack Warnings
If a particular host or network has been detected attacking the server, TCP Wrappers can be used to
warn the administrator of subsequent attacks from that host or network using the spawn directive.
In this example, assume that a cracker from the 206.182.68.0/24 network has been detected attempting
to attack the server. Place the following line in the /etc/hosts.deny file to deny any connection
attempts from that network, and to log the attempts to a special file:
ALL : 206.182.68.0 : spawn /bin/echo `date` %c %d >>

/var/log/intruder_alert
The %d token supplies the name of the service that the attacker was trying to access.
To allow the connection and log it, place the spawn directive in the /etc/hosts.allow file.
NOTE
Because the spawn directive executes any shell command, it is a good idea to create a
special script to notify the administrator or execute a chain of commands in the event that
a particular client attempts to connect to the server.
4.4.1.3. TCP Wrappers and Enhanced Logging
If certain types of connections are of more concern than others, the log level can be elevated for that
service using the severity option.
For this example, assume that anyone attempting to connect to port 23 (the Telnet port) on an FTP
server is a cracker. To denote this, place an emerg flag in the log files instead of the default flag, info,
and deny the connection.
To do this, place the following line in /etc/hosts.deny:
in.telnetd : ALL : severity emerg
This uses the default authpriv logging facility, but elevates the priority from the default value of info to
emerg, which posts log messages directly to the console.
4.4.2. Verifying Which Ports Are Listening

It is important to close unused ports to avoid possible attacks. For unexpected ports in listening state,
you should investigate for possible signs of intrusion.
Using netstat for Open Ports Scan

Enter the following command as root to determine which ports are listening for connections from the
network:
~]# netstat -pan -A inet,inet6 | grep -v ESTABLISHED

Active Internet connections (servers and established)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State
PID/Program name
Active Internet connections (servers and established)
PID/Program name
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Security Guide
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:111 0.0.0.0:*

LISTEN 1/systemd
tcp 0 0 192.168.124.1:53 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN 1829/dnsmasq
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:22 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN 1176/sshd
tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:631 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN 1177/cupsd
tcp6 0 0 :::111 :::*
LISTEN 1/systemd
tcp6 0 0 ::1:25 :::*
LISTEN 1664/master
sctp 0.0.0.0:2500
LISTEN 20985/sctp_darn
udp 0 0 192.168.124.1:53 0.0.0.0:*
1829/dnsmasq
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:67 0.0.0.0:*
977/dhclient
...
Use the -l option of the netstat command to display only listening server sockets:
~]# netstat -tlnw

Active Internet connections (only servers)
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:111 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN
tcp 0 0 192.168.124.1:53 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:22 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN
tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:631 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN
tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:25 0.0.0.0:*
LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 :::111 :::*
LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 :::22 :::*
LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 :::*
LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 ::1:25 :::*
LISTEN
raw6 0 0 :::58 :::* 7
Using ss for Open Ports Scan

Alternatively, use the ss utility to list open ports in the listening state. It can display more TCP and state
information than netstat.
~]# ss -tlw
etid State Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address:Port
Peer Address:Port
udp UNCONN 0 0 :::ipv6-icmp
:::*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 *:sunrpc
64
*:*
tcp LISTEN 0 5 192.168.124.1:domain
*:*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 *:ssh
*:*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 127.0.0.1:ipp
*:*
tcp LISTEN 0 100 127.0.0.1:smtp
*:*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 :::sunrpc
:::*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 :::ssh
:::*
tcp LISTEN 0 128 ::1:ipp
:::*
tcp LISTEN 0 100 ::1:smtp
:::*
~]# ss -plno -A tcp,udp,sctp

Netid State Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address:Port
Peer Address:Port
udp UNCONN 0 0 192.168.124.1:53
*:* users:(("dnsmasq",pid=1829,fd=5))
udp UNCONN 0 0 *%virbr0:67
udp UNCONN 0 0 *:68
*:* users:(("dhclient",pid=977,fd=6))
...
tcp LISTEN 0 5 192.168.124.1:53
tcp LISTEN 0 128 *:22
*:* users:(("sshd",pid=1176,fd=3))
tcp LISTEN 0 128 127.0.0.1:631
*:* users:(("cupsd",pid=1177,fd=12))
tcp LISTEN 0 100 127.0.0.1:25
*:* users:(("master",pid=1664,fd=13))
...
sctp LISTEN 0 5 *:2500
*:* users:(("sctp_darn",pid=20985,fd=3))
The UNCONN state shows the ports in UDP listening mode.
Make a scan for every IP address shown in the ss output (except for localhost 127.0.0.0 or ::1 range)
from an external system. Use the -6 option for scanning an IPv6 address.
Proceed then to make external checks using the nmap tool from another remote machine connected
through the network to the first system. This can be used to verify rules in firewalld. The following is an
example to determine which ports are listening for TCP connections:
~]# nmap -sT -O 192.168.122.65

Starting Nmap 6.40 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2017-03-27 09:30 CEST
Nmap scan report for 192.168.122.65
Host is up (0.00032s latency).
Not shown: 998 closed ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
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Security Guide
22/tcp open ssh

111/tcp open rpcbind
Device type: general purpose
Running: Linux 3.X
OS CPE: cpe:/o:linux:linux_kernel:3
OS details: Linux 3.7 - 3.9
Network Distance: 0 hops
OS detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at

http://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 1.79 seconds
The TCP connect scan (-sT) is the default TCP scan type when the TCP SYN scan (-sS) is not an
option. The -O option detects the operating system of the host.
Using netstat and ss to Scan for Open SCTP Ports

The netstat utility prints information about the Linux networking subsystem. To display protocol statistics
for open Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) ports, enter the following command as root:
~]# netstat -plnS

Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State PID/Program
name
sctp 127.0.0.1:250 LISTEN
4125/sctp_darn
sctp 0 0 127.0.0.1:260 127.0.0.1:250 CLOSE
4250/sctp_darn
sctp 0 0 127.0.0.1:250 127.0.0.1:260 LISTEN
4125/sctp_darn
~]# netstat -nl -A inet,inet6 | grep 2500

sctp 0.0.0.0:2500
LISTEN
The ss utility is also able to show SCTP open ports:
~]# ss -an | grep 2500

sctp LISTEN 0 5 *:2500 *:*
See the ss(8), netstat(8), nmap(1), and services(5) manual pages for more information.
4.4.3. Disabling Source Routing

Source routing is an Internet Protocol mechanism that allows an IP packet to carry information, a list of
addresses, that tells a router the path the packet must take. There is also an option to record the hops as
the route is traversed. The list of hops taken, the "route record", provides the destination with a return
path to the source. This allows the source (the sending host) to specify the route, loosely or strictly,
ignoring the routing tables of some or all of the routers. It can allow a user to redirect network traffic for
malicious purposes. Therefore, source-based routing should be disabled.
The accept_source_route option causes network interfaces to accept packets with the Strict Source
Routing (SSR) or Loose Source Routing (LSR) option set. The acceptance of source routed packets is
controlled by sysctl settings. Issue the following command as root to drop packets with the SSR or LSR
option set:
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~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_source_route=0
Disabling the forwarding of packets should also be done in conjunction with the above when possible
(disabling forwarding may interfere with virtualization). Issue the commands listed below as root:
These commands disable forwarding of IPv4 and IPv6 packets on all interfaces:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.forwarding=0
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding=0
These commands disable forwarding of all multicast packets on all interfaces:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.mc_forwarding=0
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.mc_forwarding=0
Accepting ICMP redirects has few legitimate uses. Disable the acceptance and sending of ICMP
redirected packets unless specifically required.
These commands disable acceptance of all ICMP redirected packets on all interfaces:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects=0
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_redirects=0
This command disables acceptance of secure ICMP redirected packets on all interfaces:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.secure_redirects=0
This command disables acceptance of all IPv4 ICMP redirected packets on all interfaces:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects=0
IMPORTANT
Sending of ICMP redirects remains active if at least one of the

net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects or net.ipv4.conf.interface.send_redirects options is set to
enabled. Ensure that you set the net.ipv4.conf.interface.send_redirects option to the 0
value for every interface. To automatically disable sending of ICMP requests whenever
you add a new interface, enter the following command:
~]# /sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.default.send_redirects=0
There is only a directive to disable sending of IPv4 redirected packets. See RFC4294 for an explanation
of “IPv6 Node Requirements” which resulted in this difference between IPv4 and IPv6.
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NOTE
To make these settings persistent across reboots, modify the /etc/sysctl.conf file.
For example, to disable acceptance of all IPv4 ICMP redirected packets on all interfaces,
open the /etc/sysctl.conf file with an editor running as the root user and add a line
as follows:
net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects=0
See the sysctl man page, sysctl(8), for more information. See RFC791 for an explanation of the
Internet options related to source based routing and its variants.

WARNING
Ethernet networks provide additional ways to redirect traffic, such as ARP or MAC
address spoofing, unauthorized DHCP servers, and IPv6 router or neighbor
advertisements. In addition, unicast traffic is occasionally broadcast, causing
information leaks. These weaknesses can only be addressed by specific
countermeasures implemented by the network operator. Host-based
countermeasures are not fully effective.
4.4.3.1. Reverse Path Forwarding
Reverse Path Forwarding is used to prevent packets that arrived through one interface from leaving
through a different interface. When outgoing routes and incoming routes are different, it is sometimes
referred to as asymmetric routing. Routers often route packets this way, but most hosts should not need
to do this. Exceptions are such applications that involve sending traffic out over one link and receiving
traffic over another link from a different service provider. For example, using leased lines in combination
with xDSL or satellite links with 3G modems. If such a scenario is applicable to you, then turning off
reverse path forwarding on the incoming interface is necessary. In short, unless you know that it is
required, it is best enabled as it prevents users spoofing IP addresses from local subnets and reduces
the opportunity for DDoS attacks.
NOTE
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 defaults to using Strict Reverse Path Forwarding following the
Strict Reverse Path recommendation from RFC 3704, Ingress Filtering for Multihomed
Networks..

WARNING
If forwarding is enabled, then Reverse Path Forwarding should only be disabled if

there are other means for source-address validation (such as iptables rules for
example).
68
rp_filter
Reverse Path Forwarding is enabled by means of the rp_filter directive. The sysctl utility can
be used to make changes to the running system, and permanent changes can be made by adding
lines to the /etc/sysctl.conf file. The rp_filter option is used to direct the kernel to select
from one of three modes.
To make a temporary global change, enter the following commands as root:
sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter=integer
sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter=integer
where integer is one of the following:
0 — No source validation.
1 — Strict mode as defined in RFC 3704.
2 — Loose mode as defined in RFC 3704.
The setting can be overridden per network interface using the

net.ipv4.conf.interface.rp_filter command as follows:
sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.interface.rp_filter=integer
NOTE
To make these settings persistent across reboots, modify the /etc/sysctl.conf

file. For example, to change the mode for all interfaces, open the
/etc/sysctl.conf file with an editor running as the root user and add a line as
follows:
net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter=2
IPv6_rpfilter
In case of the IPv6 protocol the firewalld daemon applies to Reverse Path Forwarding by default.
The setting can be checked in the /etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf file. You can change the
firewalld behavior by setting the IPv6_rpfilter option.
If you need a custom configuration of Reverse Path Forwarding, you can perform it without the
firewalld daemon by using the ip6tables command as follows:
ip6tables -t raw -I PREROUTING -m rpfilter --invert -j DROP
This rule should be inserted near the beginning of the raw/PREROUTING chain, so that it applies to
all traffic, in particular before the stateful matching rules. For more information about the iptables
and ip6tables services, see Section 5.13, “Setting and Controlling IP sets using iptables”.
Enabling Packet Forwarding

To enable packets arriving from outside of a system to be forwarded to another external host, IP
forwarding must be enabled in the kernel. Log in as root and change the line which reads
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0 in the /etc/sysctl.conf file to the following:
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Security Guide
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
To load the changes from the /etc/sysctl.conf file, enter the following command:
/sbin/sysctl -p
To check if IP forwarding is turned on, issue the following command as root:
/sbin/sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward
If the above command returns a 1, then IP forwarding is enabled. If it returns a 0, then you can turn it on
manually using the following command:
/sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
4.4.3.2. Additional Resources
The following are resources which explain more about Reverse Path Forwarding.
/usr/share/doc/kernel-doc-version/Documentation/networking/ip-
sysctl.txt - This file contains a complete list of files and options available in the directory.
Before accessing the kernel documentation for the first time, enter the following command as
root:
~]# yum install kernel-doc
See RFC 3704 for an explanation of Ingress Filtering for Multihomed Networks.
4.5. SECURING DNS TRAFFIC WITH DNSSEC
4.5.1. Introduction to DNSSEC

DNSSEC is a set of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) that enables a DNS client to
authenticate and check the integrity of responses from a DNS nameserver in order to verify their origin
and to determine if they have been tampered with in transit.
4.5.2. Understanding DNSSEC

For connecting over the Internet, a growing number of websites now offer the ability to connect securely
using HTTPS. However, before connecting to an HTTPS webserver, a DNS lookup must be performed,
unless you enter the IP address directly. These DNS lookups are done insecurely and are subject to man-
in-the-middle attacks due to lack of authentication. In other words, a DNS client cannot have confidence
that the replies that appear to come from a given DNS nameserver are authentic and have not been
tampered with. More importantly, a recursive nameserver cannot be sure that the records it obtains from
other nameservers are genuine. The DNS protocol did not provide a mechanism for the client to ensure it
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was not subject to a man-in-the-middle attack. DNSSEC was introduced to address the lack of
authentication and integrity checks when resolving domain names using DNS. It does not address the
problem of confidentiality.
Publishing DNSSEC information involves digitally signing DNS resource records as well as distributing
public keys in such a way as to enable DNS resolvers to build a hierarchical chain of trust. Digital
signatures for all DNS resource records are generated and added to the zone as digital signature
resource records (RRSIG). The public key of a zone is added as a DNSKEY resource record. To build
the hierarchical chain, hashes of the DNSKEY are published in the parent zone as Delegation of Signing
(DS) resource records. To facilitate proof of non-existence, the NextSECure (NSEC) and NSEC3
resource records are used. In a DNSSEC signed zone, each resource record set (RRset) has a
corresponding RRSIG resource record. Note that records used for delegation to a child zone (NS and
glue records) are not signed; these records appear in the child zone and are signed there.
Processing DNSSEC information is done by resolvers that are configured with the root zone public key.
Using this key, resolvers can verify the signatures used in the root zone. For example, the root zone has
signed the DS record for .com. The root zone also serves NS and glue records for the .com name
servers. The resolver follows this delegation and queries for the DNSKEY record of .com using these
delegated name servers. The hash of the DNSKEY record obtained should match the DS record in the
root zone. If so, the resolver will trust the obtained DNSKEY for .com. In the .com zone, the RRSIG
records are created by the .com DNSKEY. This process is repeated similarly for delegations within
.com, such as redhat.com. Using this method, a validating DNS resolver only needs to be configured
with one root key while it collects many DNSKEYs from around the world during its normal operation. If a
cryptographic check fails, the resolver will return SERVFAIL to the application.
DNSSEC has been designed in such a way that it will be completely invisible to applications not
supporting DNSSEC. If a non-DNSSEC application queries a DNSSEC capable resolver, it will receive
the answer without any of these new resource record types such as RRSIG. However, the DNSSEC
capable resolver will still perform all cryptographic checks, and will still return a SERVFAIL error to the
application if it detects malicious DNS answers. DNSSEC protects the integrity of the data between DNS
servers (authoritative and recursive), it does not provide security between the application and the
resolver. Therefore, it is important that the applications are given a secure transport to their resolver. The
easiest way to accomplish that is to run a DNSSEC capable resolver on localhost and use
127.0.0.1 in /etc/resolv.conf. Alternatively a VPN connection to a remote DNS server could be
used.
Understanding the Hotspot Problem

Wi-Fi Hotspots or VPNs rely on “DNS lies”: Captive portals tend to hijack DNS in order to redirect users to
a page where they are required to authenticate (or pay) for the Wi-Fi service. Users connecting to a VPN
often need to use an “internal only” DNS server in order to locate resources that do not exist outside the
corporate network. This requires additional handling by software. For example, dnssec-trigger can be
used to detect if a Hotspot is hijacking the DNS queries and unbound can act as a proxy nameserver to
handle the DNSSEC queries.
Choosing a DNSSEC Capable Recursive Resolver

To deploy a DNSSEC capable recursive resolver, either BIND or unbound can be used. Both enable
DNSSEC by default and are configured with the DNSSEC root key. To enable DNSSEC on a server,
either will work however the use of unbound is preferred on mobile devices, such as notebooks, as it
allows the local user to dynamically reconfigure the DNSSEC overrides required for Hotspots when using
dnssec-trigger, and for VPNs when using Libreswan. The unbound daemon further supports the
deployment of DNSSEC exceptions listed in the etc/unbound/*.d/ directories which can be useful to
both servers and mobile devices.
4.5.3. Understanding Dnssec-trigger
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Security Guide
Once unbound is installed and configured in /etc/resolv.conf, all DNS queries from applications are
processed by unbound. dnssec-trigger only reconfigures the unbound resolver when triggered to do
so. This mostly applies to roaming client machines, such as laptops, that connect to different Wi-Fi
networks. The process is as follows:
NetworkManager “triggers” dnssec-trigger when a new DNS server is obtained through DHCP.
Dnssec-trigger then performs a number of tests against the server and decides whether or not it
properly supports DNSSEC.
If it does, then dnssec-trigger reconfigures unbound to use that DNS server as a forwarder for
all queries.
If the tests fail, dnssec-trigger will ignore the new DNS server and try a few available fall-back
methods.
If it determines that an unrestricted port 53 (UDP and TCP) is available, it will tell unbound to
become a full recursive DNS server without using any forwarder.
If this is not possible, for example because port 53 is blocked by a firewall for everything except
reaching the network's DNS server itself, it will try to use DNS to port 80, or TLS encapsulated
DNS to port 443. Servers running DNS on port 80 and 443 can be configured in /etc/dnssec-
trigger/dnssec-trigger.conf. Commented out examples should be available in the
default configuration file.
If these fall-back methods also fail, dnssec-trigger offers to either operate insecurely, which
would bypass DNSSEC completely, or run in “cache only” mode where it will not attempt new
DNS queries but will answer for everything it already has in the cache.
Wi-Fi Hotspots increasingly redirect users to a sign-on page before granting access to the Internet.
During the probing sequence outlined above, if a redirection is detected, the user is prompted to ask if a
login is required to gain Internet access. The dnssec-trigger daemon continues to probe for
DNSSEC resolvers every ten seconds. See Section 4.5.8, “Using Dnssec-trigger” for information on
using the dnssec-trigger graphical utility.
4.5.4. VPN Supplied Domains and Name Servers

Some types of VPN connections can convey a domain and a list of nameservers to use for that domain
as part of the VPN tunnel setup. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux, this is supported by NetworkManager.
This means that the combination of unbound, dnssec-trigger, and NetworkManager can properly
support domains and name servers provided by VPN software. Once the VPN tunnel comes up, the
local unbound cache is flushed for all entries of the domain name received, so that queries for names
within the domain name are fetched fresh from the internal name servers reached using the VPN. When
the VPN tunnel is terminated, the unbound cache is flushed again to ensure any queries for the domain
will return the public IP addresses, and not the previously obtained private IP addresses. See
Section 4.5.11, “Configuring DNSSEC Validation for Connection Supplied Domains”.
4.5.5. Recommended Naming Practices

Red Hat recommends that both static and transient names match the fully-qualified domain name
(FQDN) used for the machine in DNS, such as host.example.com.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sometimes adds previously
unregistered Top-Level Domains (such as .yourcompany) to the public register. Therefore, Red Hat
strongly recommends that you do not use a domain name that is not delegated to you, even on a private
72
network, as this can result in a domain name that resolves differently depending on network
configuration. As a result, network resources can become unavailable. Using domain names that are not
delegated to you also makes DNSSEC more difficult to deploy and maintain, as domain name collisions
require manual configuration to enable DNSSEC validation. See the ICANN FAQ on domain name
collision for more information on this issue.
4.5.6. Understanding Trust Anchors

In a hierarchical cryptographic system, a trust anchor is an authoritative entity which is assumed to be
trustworthy. For example, in X.509 architecture, a root certificate is a trust anchor from which a chain of
trust is derived. The trust anchor must be put in the possession of the trusting party beforehand to make
path validation possible.
In the context of DNSSEC, a trust anchor consists of a DNS name and public key (or hash of the public
key) associated with that name. It is expressed as a base 64 encoded key. It is similar to a certificate in
that it is a means of exchanging information, including a public key, which can be used to verify and
authenticate DNS records. RFC 4033 defines a trust anchor as a configured DNSKEY RR or DS RR hash
of a DNSKEY RR. A validating security-aware resolver uses this public key or hash as a starting point for
building the authentication chain to a signed DNS response. In general, a validating resolver will have to
obtain the initial values of its trust anchors through some secure or trusted means outside the DNS
protocol. Presence of a trust anchor also implies that the resolver should expect the zone to which the
trust anchor points to be signed.
4.5.7. Installing DNSSEC
4.5.7.1. Installing unbound
In order to validate DNS using DNSSEC locally on a machine, it is necessary to install the DNS resolver
unbound (or bind ). It is only necessary to install dnssec-trigger on mobile devices. For servers,
unbound should be sufficient although a forwarding configuration for the local domain might be required
depending on where the server is located (LAN or Internet). dnssec-trigger will currently only help with
the global public DNS zone. NetworkManager, dhclient, and VPN applications can often gather the
domain list (and nameserver list as well) automatically, but not dnssec-trigger nor unbound.
To install unbound enter the following command as the root user:
~]# yum install unbound
4.5.7.2. Checking if unbound is Running
To determine whether the unbound daemon is running, enter the following command:
~]$ systemctl status unbound

unbound.service - Unbound recursive Domain Name Server
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/unbound.service; disabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2013-03-13 01:19:30 CET; 6h ago
The systemctl status command will report unbound as Active: inactive (dead) if the
unbound service is not running.
4.5.7.3. Starting unbound
To start the unbound daemon for the current session, enter the following command as the root user:
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Security Guide
~]# systemctl start unbound
Run the systemctl enable command to ensure that unbound starts up every time the system boots:
~]# systemctl enable unbound
The unbound daemon allows configuration of local data or overrides using the following directories:
The /etc/unbound/conf.d directory is used to add configurations for a specific domain

name. This is used to redirect queries for a domain name to a specific DNS server. This is often
used for sub-domains that only exist within a corporate WAN.
The /etc/unbound/keys.d directory is used to add trust anchors for a specific domain name.
This is required when an internal-only name is DNSSEC signed, but there is no publicly existing
DS record to build a path of trust. Another use case is when an internal version of a domain is
signed using a different DNSKEY than the publicly available name outside the corporate WAN.
The /etc/unbound/local.d directory is used to add specific DNS data as a local override.
This can be used to build blacklists or create manual overrides. This data will be returned to
clients by unbound, but it will not be marked as DNSSEC signed.
NetworkManager, as well as some VPN software, may change the configuration dynamically. These
configuration directories contain commented out example entries. For further information see the
unbound.conf(5) man page.
4.5.7.4. Installing Dnssec-trigger
The dnssec-trigger application runs as a daemon, dnssec-triggerd. To install dnssec-trigger enter

the following command as the root user:
~]# yum install dnssec-trigger
4.5.7.5. Checking if the Dnssec-trigger Daemon is Running
To determine whether dnssec-triggerd is running, enter the following command:
~]$ systemctl status dnssec-triggerd

systemctl status dnssec-triggerd.service
dnssec-triggerd.service - Reconfigure local DNS(SEC) resolver on network
change
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/dnssec-triggerd.service;
enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2013-03-13 06:10:44 CET; 1h 41min
ago
The systemctl status command will report dnssec-triggerd as Active: inactive (dead) if
the dnssec-triggerd daemon is not running. To start it for the current session enter the following
command as the root user:
~]# systemctl start dnssec-triggerd
Run the systemctl enable command to ensure that dnssec-triggerd starts up every time the
system boots:
74
~]# systemctl enable dnssec-triggerd
4.5.8. Using Dnssec-trigger

The dnssec-trigger application has a GNOME panel utility for displaying DNSSEC probe results and for
performing DNSSEC probe requests on demand. To start the utility, press the Super key to enter the
Activities Overview, type DNSSEC and then press Enter. An icon resembling a ships anchor is added to
the message tray at the bottom of the screen. Press the round blue notification icon in the bottom right of
the screen to reveal it. Right click the anchor icon to display a pop-up menu.
In normal operations unbound is used locally as the name server, and resolv.conf points to
127.0.0.1. When you click OK on the Hotspot Sign-On panel this is changed. The DNS servers are
queried from NetworkManager and put in resolv.conf. Now you can authenticate on the Hotspot's
sign-on page. The anchor icon shows a big red exclamation mark to warn you that DNS queries are
being made insecurely. When authenticated, dnssec-trigger should automatically detect this and switch
back to secure mode, although in some cases it cannot and the user has to do this manually by selecting
Reprobe.
Dnssec-trigger does not normally require any user interaction. Once started, it works in the background
and if a problem is encountered it notifies the user by means of a pop-up text box. It also informs
unbound about changes to the resolv.conf file.
4.5.9. Using dig With DNSSEC

To see whether DNSSEC is working, one can use various command line tools. The best tool to use is
the dig command from the bind-utils package. Other tools that are useful are drill from the ldns package
and unbound-host from the unbound package. The old DNS utilities nslookup and host are obsolete
and should not be used.
To send a query requesting DNSSEC data using dig, the option +dnssec is added to the command, for
example:
~]$ dig +dnssec whitehouse.gov

; <<>> DiG 9.9.3-rl.13207.22-P2-RedHat-9.9.3-4.P2.el7 <<>> +dnssec
whitehouse.gov
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 21388
;; flags: qr rd ra ad; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags: do; udp: 4096
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;whitehouse.gov. IN A
;; ANSWER SECTION:
whitehouse.gov. 20 IN A 72.246.36.110
whitehouse.gov. 20 IN RRSIG A 7 2 20 20130825124016 20130822114016 8399
whitehouse.gov. BB8VHWEkIaKpaLprt3hq1GkjDROvkmjYTBxiGhuki/BJn3PoIGyrftxR
HH0377I0Lsybj/uZv5hL4UwWd/lw6Gn8GPikqhztAkgMxddMQ2IARP6p
wbMOKbSUuV6NGUT1WWwpbi+LelFMqQcAq3Se66iyH0Jem7HtgPEUE1Zc 3oI=
;; Query time: 227 msec
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;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
;; WHEN: Thu Aug 22 22:01:52 EDT 2013
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 233
In addition to the A record, an RRSIG record is returned which contains the DNSSEC signature, as well
as the inception time and expiration time of the signature. The unbound server indicated that the data
was DNSSEC authenticated by returning the ad bit in the flags: section at the top.
If DNSSEC validation fails, the dig command would return a SERVFAIL error:
~]$ dig badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org

; <<>> DiG 9.9.3-rl.156.01-P1-RedHat-9.9.3-3.P1.el7 <<>> badsign-
a.test.dnssec-tools.org
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: SERVFAIL, id: 1010
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096
;badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org. IN A

;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
;; WHEN: Thu Aug 22 22:04:52 EDT 2013
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 60]
To request more information about the failure, DNSSEC checking can be disabled by specifying the +cd
option to the dig command:
~]$ dig +cd +dnssec badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org

; <<>> DiG 9.9.3-rl.156.01-P1-RedHat-9.9.3-3.P1.el7 <<>> +cd +dnssec
badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 26065
;; flags: qr rd ra cd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
; EDNS: version: 0, flags: do; udp: 4096
;badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org. IN A
;; ANSWER SECTION:
badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org. 49 IN A 75.119.216.33
badsign-a.test.dnssec-tools.org. 49 IN RRSIG A 5 4 86400 20130919183720
20130820173720 19442 test.dnssec-tools.org.
E572dLKMvYB4cgTRyAHIKKEvdOP7tockQb7hXFNZKVbfXbZJOIDREJrr
zCgAfJ2hykfY0yJHAlnuQvM0s6xOnNBSvc2xLIybJdfTaN6kSR0YFdYZ
n2NpPctn2kUBn5UR1BJRin3Gqy20LZlZx2KD7cZBtieMsU/IunyhCSc0 kYw=
76
;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
;; WHEN: Thu Aug 22 22:06:31 EDT 2013
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 257
Often, DNSSEC mistakes manifest themselves by bad inception or expiration time, although in this
example, the people at www.dnssec-tools.org have mangled this RRSIG signature on purpose, which we
would not be able to detect by looking at this output manually. The error will show in the output of
systemctl status unbound and the unbound daemon logs these errors to syslog as follows:
Aug 22 22:04:52 laptop unbound: [3065:0] info: validation failure badsign-

a.test.dnssec-tools.org. A IN
An example using unbound-host:
~]$ unbound-host -C /etc/unbound/unbound.conf -v whitehouse.gov

whitehouse.gov has address 184.25.196.110 (secure)
whitehouse.gov has IPv6 address 2600:1417:11:2:8800::fc4 (secure)
whitehouse.gov has IPv6 address 2600:1417:11:2:8000::fc4 (secure)
whitehouse.gov mail is handled by 105 mail1.eop.gov. (secure)
4.5.10. Setting up Hotspot Detection Infrastructure for Dnssec-trigger

When connecting to a network, dnssec-trigger attempts to detect a Hotspot. A Hotspot is generally a
device that forces user interaction with a web page before they can use the network resources. The
detection is done by attempting to download a specific fixed web page with known content. If there is a
Hotspot, then the content received will not be as expected.
To set up a fixed web page with known content that can be used by dnssec-trigger to detect a Hotspot,
proceed as follows:
1. Set up a web server on some machine that is publicly reachable on the Internet. See the Web
Servers chapter in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide. .
2. Once you have the server running, publish a static page with known content on it. The page
does not need to be a valid HTML page. For example, you could use a plain-text file named
hotspot.txt that contains only the string OK. Assuming your server is located at
example.com and you published your hotspot.txt file in the web server
document_root/static/ sub-directory, then the address to your static web page would be
example.com/static/hotspot.txt. See the DocumentRoot directive in the Web Servers
chapter in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide.
3. Add the following line to the /etc/dnssec-trigger/dnssec-trigger.conf file:
url: "http://example.com/static/hotspot.txt OK"
This command adds a URL that is probed using HTTP (port 80). The first part is the URL that will
be resolved and the page that will be downloaded. The second part of the command is the text
string that the downloaded webpage is expected to contain.
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For more information on the configuration options see the man page dnssec-trigger.conf(8).
4.5.11. Configuring DNSSEC Validation for Connection Supplied Domains

By default, forward zones with proper nameservers are automatically added into unbound by dnssec-
trigger for every domain provided by any connection, except Wi-Fi connections through
NetworkManager. By default, all forward zones added into unbound are DNSSEC validated.
The default behavior for validating forward zones can be altered, so that all forward zones will not be
DNSSEC validated by default. To do this, change the validate_connection_provided_zones
variable in the dnssec-trigger configuration file /etc/dnssec.conf. As root user, open and edit the
line as follows:
validate_connection_provided_zones=no
The change is not done for any existing forward zones, but only for future forward zones. Therefore if
you want to disable DNSSEC for the current provided domain, you need to reconnect.
4.5.11.1. Configuring DNSSEC Validation for Wi-Fi Supplied Domains
Adding forward zones for Wi-Fi provided zones can be enabled. To do this, change the
add_wifi_provided_zones variable in the dnssec-trigger configuration file, /etc/dnssec.conf.
As root user, open and edit the line as follows:
add_wifi_provided_zones=yes
The change is not done for any existing forward zones, but only for future forward zones. Therefore, if
you want to enable DNSSEC for the current Wi-Fi provided domain, you need to reconnect (restart) the
Wi-Fi connection.

WARNING
Turning on the addition of Wi-Fi provided domains as forward zones into unbound
may have security implications such as:
1. A Wi-Fi access point can intentionally provide you a domain through DHCP
for which it does not have authority and route all your DNS queries to its DNS
servers.
2. If you have the DNSSEC validation of forward zones turned off, the Wi-Fi
provided DNS servers can spoof the IP address for domain names from the
provided domain without you knowing it.
4.5.12. Additional Resources

The following are resources which explain more about DNSSEC.
4.5.12.1. Installed Documentation
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dnssec-trigger(8) man page — Describes command options for dnssec-triggerd,

dnssec-trigger-control and dnssec-trigger-panel.
dnssec-trigger.conf(8) man page — Describes the configuration options for dnssec-

triggerd.
unbound(8) man page — Describes the command options for unbound, the DNS validating
resolver.
unbound.conf(5) man page — Contains information on how to configure unbound.
resolv.conf(5) man page — Contains information that is read by the resolver routines.
4.5.12.2. Online Documentation
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4033
RFC 4033 DNS Security Introduction and Requirements.
http://www.dnssec.net/
A website with links to many DNSSEC resources.
http://www.dnssec-deployment.org/
The DNSSEC Deployment Initiative, sponsored by the Department for Homeland Security, contains a
lot of DNSSEC information and has a mailing list to discuss DNSSEC deployment issues.
http://www.internetsociety.org/deploy360/dnssec/community/
The Internet Society's “Deploy 360” initiative to stimulate and coordinate DNSSEC deployment is a
good resource for finding communities and DNSSEC activities worldwide.
http://www.unbound.net/
This document contains general information about the unbound DNS service.
http://www.nlnetlabs.nl/projects/dnssec-trigger/
This document contains general information about dnssec-trigger.
4.6. SECURING VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS (VPNS) USING

LIBRESWAN
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be configured using the IPsec
protocol which is supported by the Libreswan application. Libreswan is a continuation of the
Openswan application and many examples from the Openswan documentation are interchangeable
with Libreswan. The NetworkManager IPsec plug-in is called NetworkManager-libreswan. Users of
GNOME Shell should install the NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome package, which has
NetworkManager-libreswan as a dependency. Note that the NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome package
is only available from the Optional channel. See Enabling Supplementary and Optional Repositories.
The IPsec protocol for VPN is itself configured using the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol. The
terms IPsec and IKE are used interchangeably. An IPsec VPN is also called an IKE VPN, IKEv2 VPN,
XAUTH VPN, Cisco VPN or IKE/IPsec VPN. A variant of an IPsec VPN that also uses the Level 2
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Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is usually called an L2TP/IPsec VPN, which requires the Optional channel
xl2tpd application.
Libreswan is an open-source, user-space IKE implementation available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
IKE version 1 and 2 are implemented as a user-level daemon. The IKE protocol itself is also encrypted.
The IPsec protocol is implemented by the Linux kernel and Libreswan configures the kernel to add and
remove VPN tunnel configurations.
The IKE protocol uses UDP port 500 and 4500. The IPsec protocol consists of two different protocols,
Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP) which has protocol number 50, and Authenticated Header (AH)
which as protocol number 51. The AH protocol is not recommended for use. Users of AH are
recommended to migrate to ESP with null encryption.
The IPsec protocol has two different modes of operation, Tunnel Mode (the default) and Transport
Mode. It is possible to configure the kernel with IPsec without IKE. This is called Manual Keying. It is
possible to configure manual keying using the ip xfrm commands, however, this is strongly
discouraged for security reasons. Libreswan interfaces with the Linux kernel using netlink. Packet
encryption and decryption happen in the Linux kernel.
Libreswan uses the Network Security Services (NSS) cryptographic library. Both libreswan and NSS are
certified for use with the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 140-2.
IMPORTANT
IKE/IPsec VPNs, implemented by Libreswan and the Linux kernel, is the only VPN
technology recommended for use in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. Do not use any other
VPN technology without understanding the risks of doing so.
4.6.1. Installing Libreswan

To install Libreswan, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install libreswan
To check that Libreswan is installed:
~]$ yum info libreswan
After a new installation of Libreswan, the NSS database should be initialized as part of the installation
process. Before you start a new database, remove the old database as follows:
~]# systemctl stop ipsec

~]# rm /etc/ipsec.d/*db
Then, to initialize a new NSS database, enter the following command as root:
~]# ipsec initnss

Initializing NSS database
Only when operating in FIPS mode, it is necessary to protect the NSS database with a password. To
initialize the database for FIPS mode, instead of the previous command, use:
~]# certutil -N -d sql:/etc/ipsec.d
80
Enter a password which will be used to encrypt your keys.

The password should be at least 8 characters long,
and should contain at least one non-alphabetic character.
Enter new password:

Re-enter password:
To start the ipsec daemon provided by Libreswan, issue the following command as root:
~]# systemctl start ipsec
To confirm that the daemon is now running:
~]$ systemctl status ipsec

* ipsec.service - Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol Daemon for IPsec
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/ipsec.service; disabled; vendor
preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Sun 2018-03-18 18:44:43 EDT; 3s ago
Docs: man:ipsec(8)
man:pluto(8)
man:ipsec.conf(5)
Process: 20358 ExecStopPost=/usr/sbin/ipsec --stopnflog (code=exited,
status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20355 ExecStopPost=/sbin/ip xfrm state flush (code=exited,
status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20352 ExecStopPost=/sbin/ip xfrm policy flush (code=exited,
status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20347 ExecStop=/usr/libexec/ipsec/whack --shutdown
(code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20634 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/ipsec --checknflog (code=exited,
status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20631 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/ipsec --checknss (code=exited,
status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20369 ExecStartPre=/usr/libexec/ipsec/_stackmanager start
(code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 20366 ExecStartPre=/usr/libexec/ipsec/addconn --config
/etc/ipsec.conf --checkconfig (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 20646 (pluto)
Status: "Startup completed."
CGroup: /system.slice/ipsec.service
└─20646 /usr/libexec/ipsec/pluto --leak-detective --config
/etc/ipsec.conf --nofork
To ensure that Libreswan will start when the system starts, issue the following command as root:
~]# systemctl enable ipsec
Configure any intermediate as well as host-based firewalls to permit the ipsec service. See Chapter 5,
Using Firewalls for information on firewalls and allowing specific services to pass through. Libreswan
requires the firewall to allow the following packets:
UDP port 500 and 4500 for the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol
Protocol 50 for Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP) IPsec packets
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Protocol 51 for Authenticated Header (AH) IPsec packets (uncommon)
We present three examples of using Libreswan to set up an IPsec VPN. The first example is for
connecting two hosts together so that they may communicate securely. The second example is
connecting two sites together to form one network. The third example is supporting remote users, known
as road warriors in this context.
4.6.2. Creating VPN Configurations Using Libreswan

Libreswan does not use the terms “source” and “destination” or “server” and “client” since IKE/IPsec
are peer to peer protocols. Instead, it uses the terms “left” and “right” to refer to end points (the hosts).
This also allows the same configuration to be used on both end points in most cases, although a lot of
administrators choose to always use “left” for the local host and “right” for the remote host.
There are four commonly used methods for authentication of endpoints:
Pre-Shared Keys (PSK) is the simplest authentication method. PSKs should consist of random
characters and have a length of at least 20 characters. In FIPS mode, PSKs need to comply to a
minimum strength requirement depending on the integrity algorithm used. It is recommended not
to use PSKs shorter than 64 random characters.
Raw RSA keys are commonly used for static host-to-host or subnet-to-subnet IPsec
configurations. The hosts are manually configured with each other's public RSA key. This
method does not scale well when dozens or more hosts all need to setup IPsec tunnels to each
other.
X.509 certificates are commonly used for large-scale deployments where there are many hosts
that need to connect to a common IPsec gateway. A central certificate authority (CA) is used to
sign RSA certificates for hosts or users. This central CA is responsible for relaying trust,
including the revocations of individual hosts or users.
NULL Authentication is used to gain mesh encryption without authentication. It protects against
passive attacks but does not protect against active attacks. However, since IKEv2 allows
asymmetrical authentication methods, NULL Authentication can also be used for internet scale
Opportunistic IPsec, where clients authenticate the server, but servers do not authenticate the
client. This model is similar to secure websites using TLS (also known as https:// websites).
In addition to these authentication methods, an additional authentication can be added to protect against
possible attacks by quantum computers. This additional authentication method is called Postquantum
Preshared Keys (PPK. Individual clients or groups of clients can use their own PPK by specifying a
(PPKID that corresponds to an out-of-band configured PreShared Key. See Section 4.6.9, “Using the
Protection against Quantum Computers”.
4.6.3. Creating Host-To-Host VPN Using Libreswan

To configure Libreswan to create a host-to-host IPsec VPN, between two hosts referred to as “left” and
“right”, enter the following commands as root on both of the hosts (“left” and “right”) to create new raw
RSA key pairs:
~]# ipsec newhostkey

Generated RSA key pair with CKAID 14936e48e756eb107fa1438e25a345b46d80433f
was stored in the NSS database
This generates an RSA key pair for the host. The process of generating RSA keys can take many
minutes, especially on virtual machines with low entropy.
82
To view the host public key so it can be specified in a configuration as the “left” side, issue the following
command as root on the host where the new hostkey was added, using the CKAID returned by the
“newhostkey” command:
~]# ipsec showhostkey --left --ckaid

14936e48e756eb107fa1438e25a345b46d80433f
# rsakey AQPFKElpV
leftrsasigkey=0sAQPFKElpV2GdCF0Ux9Kqhcap53Kaa+uCgduoT2I3x6LkRK8N+GiVGkRH4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You will need this key to add to the configuration file on both hosts as explained below. If you forgot the
CKAID, you can obtain a list of all host keys on a machine using:
~]# ipsec showhostkey --list

< 1 > RSA keyid: AQPFKElpV ckaid:
14936e48e756eb107fa1438e25a345b46d80433f
The secret part of the keypair is stored inside the “NSS database” which resides in
/etc/ipsec.d/*.db.
To make a configuration file for this host-to-host tunnel, the lines leftrsasigkey= and
rightrsasigkey= from above are added to a custom configuration file placed in the /etc/ipsec.d/
directory.
Using an editor running as root, create a file with a suitable name in the following format:
/etc/ipsec.d/my_host-to-host.conf
Edit the file as follows:
conn mytunnel
[email protected]
left=192.1.2.23
leftrsasigkey=0sAQOrlo+hOafUZDlCQmXFrje/oZm [...]
W2n417C/4urYHQkCvuIQ==
[email protected]
right=192.1.2.45
rightrsasigkey=0sAQO3fwC6nSSGgt64DWiYZzuHbc4 [...] D/v8t5YTQ==
authby=rsasig
# load and initiate automatically
auto=start
Public keys can also be configured by their CKAID instead of by their RSAID. In that case use
“leftckaid=” instead of “leftrsasigkey=”
You can use the identical configuration file on both left and right hosts. Libreswan automatically detects if
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it is “left” or “right” based on the specified IP addresses or hostnames. If one of the hosts is a mobile
host, which implies the IP address is not known in advance, then on the mobile client use
%defaultroute as its IP address. This will pick up the dynamic IP address automatically. On the
static server host that accepts connections from incoming mobile hosts, specify the mobile host using
%any for its IP address.
Ensure the leftrsasigkey value is obtained from the “left” host and the rightrsasigkey value is
obtained from the “right” host. The same applies when using leftckaid and rightckaid.
Restart ipsec to ensure it reads the new configuration and if configured to start on boot, to confirm that
the tunnels establish:
~]# systemctl restart ipsec
When using the auto=start option, the IPsec tunnel should be established within a few seconds. You
can manually load and start the tunnel by entering the following commands as root:
~]# ipsec auto --add mytunnel

~]# ipsec auto --up mytunnel
4.6.3.1. Verifying Host-To-Host VPN Using Libreswan
The IKE negotiation takes place on UDP ports 500 and 4500. IPsec packets show up as
Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP) packets. The ESP protocol has no ports. When the VPN
connection needs to pass through a NAT router, the ESP packets are encapsulated in UDP packets on
port 4500.
To verify that packets are being sent through the VPN tunnel, issue a command as root in the following
format:
~]# tcpdump -n -i interface esp or udp port 500 or udp port 4500
00:32:32.632165 IP 192.1.2.45 > 192.1.2.23: ESP(spi=0x63ad7e17,seq=0x1a),
length 132
00:32:32.632592 IP 192.1.2.23 > 192.1.2.45: ESP(spi=0x4841b647,seq=0x1a),
length 132
00:32:32.632592 IP 192.0.2.254 > 192.0.1.254: ICMP echo reply, id 2489,
seq 7, length 64
00:32:33.632221 IP 192.1.2.45 > 192.1.2.23: ESP(spi=0x63ad7e17,seq=0x1b),
length 132
00:32:33.632731 IP 192.1.2.23 > 192.1.2.45: ESP(spi=0x4841b647,seq=0x1b),
length 132
seq 8, length 64
00:32:34.632183 IP 192.1.2.45 > 192.1.2.23: ESP(spi=0x63ad7e17,seq=0x1c),
length 132
00:32:34.632607 IP 192.1.2.23 > 192.1.2.45: ESP(spi=0x4841b647,seq=0x1c),
length 132
seq 9, length 64
00:32:35.632233 IP 192.1.2.45 > 192.1.2.23: ESP(spi=0x63ad7e17,seq=0x1d),
length 132
00:32:35.632685 IP 192.1.2.23 > 192.1.2.45: ESP(spi=0x4841b647,seq=0x1d),
84
length 132
seq 10, length 64
Where interface is the interface known to carry the traffic. To end the capture with tcpdump, press
Ctrl+C.
NOTE
The tcpdump command interacts a little unexpectedly with IPsec. It only sees the
outgoing encrypted packet, not the outgoing plaintext packet. It does see the encrypted
incoming packet, as well as the decrypted incoming packet. If possible, run tcpdump on a
router between the two machines and not on one of the endpoints itself. When using the
Virtual Tunnel Interface (VTI), tcpdump on the physical interface shows ESP packets,
while tcpdump on the VTI interface shows the cleartext traffic.
Another easy way to see if a tunnel is up, and additionally see how much traffic has gone through the
tunnel, issue the following command as root:
~]# ipsec whack --trafficstatus

006 #2: "mytunnel", type=ESP, add_time=1234567890, inBytes=336, out
Bytes=336, id='@east'
4.6.4. Configuring Site-to-Site VPN Using Libreswan

In order for Libreswan to create a site-to-site IPsec VPN, joining together two networks, an IPsec
tunnel is created between two hosts, endpoints, which are configured to permit traffic from one or more
subnets to pass through. They can therefore be thought of as gateways to the remote portion of the
network. The configuration of the site-to-site VPN only differs from the host-to-host VPN in that one or
more networks or subnets must be specified in the configuration file.
To configure Libreswan to create a site-to-site IPsec VPN, first configure a host-to-host IPsec VPN as
described in Section 4.6.3, “Creating Host-To-Host VPN Using Libreswan” and then copy or move the file
to a file with a suitable name, such as /etc/ipsec.d/my_site-to-site.conf. Using an editor
running as root, edit the custom configuration file /etc/ipsec.d/my_site-to-site.conf as
follows:
conn mysubnet
also=mytunnel
leftsubnet=192.0.1.0/24
rightsubnet=192.0.2.0/24
auto=start
conn mysubnet6
also=mytunnel
connaddrfamily=ipv6
leftsubnet=2001:db8:0:1::/64
rightsubnet=2001:db8:0:2::/64
auto=start
conn mytunnel
[email protected]
left=192.1.2.23
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[email protected]
right=192.1.2.45
authby=rsasig
To bring the tunnels up, restart Libreswan or manually load and initiate all the connections using the
following commands as root:
~]# ipsec auto --add mysubnet
~]# ipsec auto --add mysubnet6
~]# ipsec auto --up mysubnet

104 "mysubnet" #1: STATE_MAIN_I1: initiate
003 "mysubnet" #1: received Vendor ID payload [Dead Peer Detection]
003 "mytunnel" #1: received Vendor ID payload [FRAGMENTATION]
106 "mysubnet" #1: STATE_MAIN_I2: sent MI2, expecting MR2
108 "mysubnet" #1: STATE_MAIN_I3: sent MI3, expecting MR3
003 "mysubnet" #1: received Vendor ID payload [CAN-IKEv2]
004 "mysubnet" #1: STATE_MAIN_I4: ISAKMP SA established
{auth=OAKLEY_RSA_SIG cipher=aes_128 prf=oakley_sha group=modp2048}
117 "mysubnet" #2: STATE_QUICK_I1: initiate
004 "mysubnet" #2: STATE_QUICK_I2: sent QI2, IPsec SA established tunnel
mode {ESP=>0x9414a615 <0x1a8eb4ef xfrm=AES_128-HMAC_SHA1 NATOA=none
NATD=none DPD=none}
~]# ipsec auto --up mysubnet6

003 "mytunnel" #1: received Vendor ID payload [FRAGMENTATION]
117 "mysubnet" #2: STATE_QUICK_I1: initiate
004 "mysubnet" #2: STATE_QUICK_I2: sent QI2, IPsec SA established tunnel
mode {ESP=>0x06fe2099 <0x75eaa862 xfrm=AES_128-HMAC_SHA1 NATOA=none
NATD=none DPD=none}
4.6.4.1. Verifying Site-to-Site VPN Using Libreswan
Verifying that packets are being sent through the VPN tunnel is the same procedure as explained in
Section 4.6.3.1, “Verifying Host-To-Host VPN Using Libreswan”.
4.6.5. Configuring Site-to-Site Single Tunnel VPN Using Libreswan

Often, when a site-to-site tunnel is built, the gateways need to communicate with each other using their
internal IP addresses instead of their public IP addresses. This can be accomplished using a single
tunnel. If the left host, with host name west, has internal IP address 192.0.1.254 and the right host,
with host name east, has internal IP address 192.0.2.254, the following configuration using a single
tunnel can be used:
conn mysubnet
[email protected]
left=192.1.2.23
86
leftsourceip=192.0.1.254
[email protected]
right=192.1.2.45
rightsourceip=192.0.2.254
auto=start
authby=rsasig
4.6.6. Configuring Subnet Extrusion Using Libreswan

IPsec is often deployed in a hub-and-spoke architecture. Each leaf node has an IP range that is part of
a larger range. Leaves communicate with each other through the hub. This is called subnet extrusion.
Example 4.2. Configuring Simple Subnet Extrusion Setup
In the following example, we configure the head office with 10.0.0.0/8 and two branches that use a
smaller /24 subnet.
At the head office:
conn branch1
left=1.2.3.4
leftid=@headoffice
leftrsasigkey=0sA[...]
#
right=5.6.7.8
rightid=@branch1
rightrsasigkey=0sAXXXX[...]
#
auto=start
authby=rsasig
conn branch2
left=1.2.3.4
leftid=@headoffice
#
right=10.11.12.13
rightid=@branch2
rightrsasigkey=0sAYYYY[...]
#
auto=start
authby=rsasig
At the “branch1” office, we use the same connection. Additionally, we use a pass-through connection
to exclude our local LAN traffic from being sent through the tunnel:
conn branch1
left=1.2.3.4
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leftid=@headoffice
#
right=10.11.12.13
rightid=@branch2
rightrsasigkey=0sAYYYY[...]
#
auto=start
authby=rsasig
conn passthrough
left=1.2.3.4
right=0.0.0.0
authby=never
type=passthrough
auto=route
4.6.7. Configuring IKEv2 Remote Access VPN Libreswan

Road warriors are traveling users with mobile clients with a dynamically assigned IP address, such as
laptops. These are authenticated using certificates. To avoid needing to use the old IKEv1 XAUTH
protocol, IKEv2 is used in the following example:
On the server:
conn roadwarriors
ikev2=insist
# Support (roaming) MOBIKE clients (RFC 4555)
mobike=yes
fragmentation=yes
left=1.2.3.4
# if access to the LAN is given, enable this, otherwise use 0.0.0.0/0
# leftsubnet=10.10.0.0/16
leftcert=gw.example.com
leftid=%fromcert
leftxauthserver=yes
leftmodecfgserver=yes
right=%any
# trust our own Certificate Agency
rightca=%same
# pick an IP address pool to assign to remote users
# 100.64.0.0/16 prevents RFC1918 clashes when remote users are behind
NAT
rightaddresspool=100.64.13.100-100.64.13.254
# if you want remote clients to use some local DNS zones and servers
modecfgdns="1.2.3.4, 5.6.7.8"
modecfgdomains="internal.company.com, corp"
rightxauthclient=yes
rightmodecfgclient=yes
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authby=rsasig
# optionally, run the client X.509 ID through pam to allow/deny client
# pam-authorize=yes
# load connection, don't initiate
auto=add
# kill vanished roadwarriors
dpddelay=1m
dpdtimeout=5m
dpdaction=%clear
On the mobile client, the road warrior's device, use a slight variation of the previous configuration:
conn to-vpn-server
ikev2=insist
# pick up our dynamic IP
left=%defaultroute
leftcert=myname.example.com
leftid=%fromcert
leftmodecfgclient=yes
# right can also be a DNS hostname
right=1.2.3.4
# if access to the remote LAN is required, enable this, otherwise use
0.0.0.0/0
# rightsubnet=10.10.0.0/16
# trust our own Certificate Agency
rightca=%same
authby=rsasig
# allow narrowing to the server’s suggested assigned IP and remote
subnet
narrowing=yes
# Support (roaming) MOBIKE clients (RFC 4555)
mobike=yes
# Initiate connection
auto=start
4.6.8. Configuring IKEv1 Remote Access VPN Libreswan and XAUTH with X.509
Libreswan offers a method to natively assign IP address and DNS information to roaming VPN clients
as the connection is established by using the XAUTH IPsec extension. XAUTH can be deployed using
PSK or X.509 certificates. Deploying using X.509 is more secure. Client certificates can be revoked by a
certificate revocation list or by Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP). With X.509 certificates,
individual clients cannot impersonate the server. With a PSK, also called Group Password, this is
theoretically possible.
XAUTH requires the VPN client to additionally identify itself with a user name and password. For One
time Passwords (OTP), such as Google Authenticator or RSA SecureID tokens, the one-time token is
appended to the user password.
There are three possible back ends for XAUTH:
xauthby=pam
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This uses the configuration in /etc/pam.d/pluto to authenticate the user. Pam can be configured
to use various back ends by itself. It can use the system account user-password scheme, an LDAP
directory, a RADIUS server or a custom password authentication module.
xauthby=file
This uses the /etc/ipsec.d/passwd configuration file (it should not be confused with the
/etc/ipsec.d/nsspassword file). The format of this file is similar to the Apache .htpasswd file
and the Apache htpasswd command can be used to create entries in this file. However, after the
user name and password, a third column is required with the connection name of the IPsec
connection used, for example when using a conn remoteusers to offer VPN to remove users, a
password file entry should look as follows:
user1:$apr1$MIwQ3DHb$1I69LzTnZhnCT2DPQmAOK.:remoteusers
NOTE
When using the htpasswd command, the connection name has to be manually added
after the user:password part on each line.
xauthby=alwaysok
The server always pretends the XAUTH user and password combination is correct. The client still has
to specify a user name and a password, although the server ignores these. This should only be used
when users are already identified by X.509 certificates, or when testing the VPN without needing an
XAUTH back end.
An example configuration with X.509 certificates:
conn xauth-rsa
ikev2=never
auto=add
authby=rsasig
pfs=no
rekey=no
left=ServerIP
leftcert=vpn.example.com
#leftid=%fromcert
leftid=vpn.example.com
leftsendcert=always
rightaddresspool=10.234.123.2-10.234.123.254
right=%any
rightrsasigkey=%cert
modecfgdns1=1.2.3.4
modecfgdns2=8.8.8.8
modecfgdomain=example.com
modecfgbanner="Authorized Access is allowed"
leftxauthserver=yes
rightxauthclient=yes
leftmodecfgserver=yes
rightmodecfgclient=yes
modecfgpull=yes
xauthby=pam
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dpddelay=30
dpdtimeout=120
dpdaction=clear
ike_frag=yes
# for walled-garden on xauth failure
# xauthfail=soft
# leftupdown=/custom/_updown
When xauthfail is set to soft, instead of hard, authentication failures are ignored, and the VPN is
setup as if the user authenticated properly. A custom updown script can be used to check for the
environment variable XAUTH_FAILED. Such users can then be redirected, for example, using iptables
DNAT, to a “walled garden” where they can contact the administrator or renew a paid subscription to the
service.
VPN clients use the modecfgdomain value and the DNS entries to redirect queries for the specified
domain to these specified nameservers. This allows roaming users to access internal-only resources
using the internal DNS names. Note while IKEv2 supports a comma seperated list of domain names and
nameserver IP addresses using modecfgdomains and modecfgdns, the IKEv1 protocol only supports
one domain name, and libreswan only supports up to two nameserver IP addresses.
If leftsubnet is not 0.0.0.0/0, split tunneling configuration requests are sent automatically to the
client. For example, when using leftsubnet=10.0.0.0/8, the VPN client would only send traffic for
10.0.0.0/8 through the VPN.
4.6.9. Using the Protection against Quantum Computers

Using IKEv1 with PreShared Keys gave protection against quantum attackers. The redesign of IKEv2
does not offer this protection natively. Libreswan offers the use of Postquantum Preshared Keys (PPK)
to protect IKEv2 connections against quantum attacks.
To enable optional PPK support, add ppk=yes to the connection definition. To require PPK, add
ppk=insist. Then, each client can be given a PPK ID with a secret value that is communicated out-of-
band (and preferably quantum safe). The PPK's should be very strong in randomness and not be based
on dictionary words. The PPK ID and PPK data itself are stored in ipsec.secrets, for example:
@west @east : PPKS "user1" "thestringismeanttobearandomstr"
The PPKS refers to static PPKs. There is an experimental function to use one-time-pad based Dynamic
PPKs. Upon each connection, a new part of a onetime pad is used as the PPK. When used, that part of
the dynamic PPK inside the file is overwritten with zeroes to prevent re-use. If there is no more one time
pad material left, the connection fails. See the ipsec.secrets(5) man page for more information.

WARNING
The implementation of dynamic PPKs is provided as a Technology Preview and this

functionality should be used with caution. See the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5
Release Notes for more information.
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Security Guide
The following sources of information provide additional resources regarding Libreswan and the ipsec
daemon.
4.6.10.1. Installed Documentation
ipsec(8) man page — Describes command options for ipsec.
ipsec.conf(5) man page — Contains information on configuring ipsec.
ipsec.secrets(5) man page — Describes the format of the ipsec.secrets file.
ipsec_auto(8) man page — Describes the use of the auto command line client for
manipulating Libreswan IPsec connections established using automatic exchanges of keys.
ipsec_rsasigkey(8) man page — Describes the tool used to generate RSA signature keys.
/usr/share/doc/libreswan-version/
4.6.10.2. Online Documentation
https://libreswan.org
The website of the upstream project.
https://libreswan.org/wiki
The Libreswan Project Wiki.
https://libreswan.org/man/
All Libreswan man pages.
4.7. USING OPENSSL

OpenSSL is a library that provides cryptographic protocols to applications. The openssl command line
utility enables using the cryptographic functions from the shell. It includes an interactive mode.
The openssl command line utility has a number of pseudo-commands to provide information on the
commands that the version of openssl installed on the system supports. The pseudo-commands list-
standard-commands, list-message-digest-commands, and list-cipher-commands output a
list of all standard commands, message digest commands, or cipher commands, respectively, that are
available in the present openssl utility.
The pseudo-commands list-cipher-algorithms and list-message-digest-algorithms list

all cipher and message digest names. The pseudo-command list-public-key-algorithms lists all
supported public key algorithms. For example, to list the supported public key algorithms, issue the
following command:
~]$ openssl list-public-key-algorithms
The pseudo-command no-command-name tests whether a command-name of the specified name is

available. Intended for use in shell scripts. See man openssl(1) for more information.
4.7.1. Creating and Managing Encryption Keys
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With OpenSSL, public keys are derived from the corresponding private key. Therefore the first step,
once having decided on the algorithm, is to generate the private key. In these examples the private key is
referred to as privkey.pem. For example, to create an RSA private key using default parameters, issue
the following command:
~]$ openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out privkey.pem
The RSA algorithm supports the following options:
rsa_keygen_bits:numbits — The number of bits in the generated key. If not specified 1024
is used.
rsa_keygen_pubexp:value — The RSA public exponent value. This can be a large decimal
value, or a hexadecimal value if preceded by 0x. The default value is 65537.
For example, to create a 2048 bit RSA private key using 3 as the public exponent, issue the following
command:
~]$ openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out privkey.pem -pkeyopt

rsa_keygen_bits:2048 \ -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_pubexp:3
To encrypt the private key as it is output using 128 bit AES and the passphrase “hello”, issue the
following command:
~]$ openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out privkey.pem -aes-128-cbc -pass

pass:hello
See man genpkey(1) for more information on generating private keys.
4.7.2. Generating Certificates

To generate a certificate using OpenSSL, it is necessary to have a private key available. In these
examples the private key is referred to as privkey.pem. If you have not yet generated a private key, see
Section 4.7.1, “Creating and Managing Encryption Keys”
To have a certificate signed by a certificate authority (CA), it is necessary to generate a certificate and
then send it to a CA for signing. This is referred to as a certificate signing request. See Section 4.7.2.1,
“Creating a Certificate Signing Request” for more information. The alternative is to create a self-signed
certificate. See Section 4.7.2.2, “Creating a Self-signed Certificate” for more information.
4.7.2.1. Creating a Certificate Signing Request
To create a certificate for submission to a CA, issue a command in the following format:
~]$ openssl req -new -key privkey.pem -out cert.csr
This will create an X.509 certificate called cert.csr encoded in the default privacy-enhanced electronic
mail (PEM) format. The name PEM is derived from “Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail”
described in RFC 1424. To generate a certificate file in the alternative DER format, use the -outform
DER command option.
After issuing the above command, you will be prompted for information about you and the organization in
order to create a distinguished name (DN) for the certificate. You will need the following information:
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Security Guide
The two letter country code for your country
The full name of your state or province
City or Town
The name of your organization
The name of the unit within your organization
Your name or the host name of the system
Your email address
The req(1) man page describes the PKCS# 10 certificate request and generating utility. Default settings
used in the certificate creating process are contained within the /etc/pki/tls/openssl.cnf file.
See man openssl.cnf(5) for more information.
4.7.2.2. Creating a Self-signed Certificate
To generate a self-signed certificate, valid for 366 days, issue a command in the following format:
~]$ openssl req -new -x509 -key privkey.pem -out selfcert.pem -days 366
4.7.2.3. Creating a Certificate Using a Makefile
The /etc/pki/tls/certs/ directory contains a Makefile which can be used to create certificates
using the make command. To view the usage instructions, issue a command as follows:
~]$ make -f /etc/pki/tls/certs/Makefile
Alternatively, change to the directory and issue the make command as follows:
~]$ cd /etc/pki/tls/certs/
~]$ make
See the make(1) man page for more information.
4.7.3. Verifying Certificates

A certificate signed by a CA is referred to as a trusted certificate. A self-signed certificate is therefore an
untrusted certificate. The verify utility uses the same SSL and S/MIME functions to verify a certificate as
is used by OpenSSL in normal operation. If an error is found it is reported and then an attempt is made
to continue testing in order to report any other errors.
To verify multiple individual X.509 certificates in PEM format, issue a command in the following format:
~]$ openssl verify cert1.pem cert2.pem
To verify a certificate chain the leaf certificate must be in cert.pem and the intermediate certificates
which you do not trust must be directly concatenated in untrusted.pem. The trusted root CA certificate
must be either among the default CA listed in /etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt or in a
cacert.pem file. Then, to verify the chain, issue a command in the following format:
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~]$ openssl verify -untrusted untrusted.pem -CAfile cacert.pem cert.pem
See man verify(1) for more information.
IMPORTANT
Verification of signatures using the MD5 hash algorithm is disabled in Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 7 due to insufficient strength of this algorithm. Always use strong algorithms such as
SHA256.
4.7.4. Encrypting and Decrypting a File

For encrypting (and decrypting) files with OpenSSL, either the pkeyutl or enc built-in commands can
be used. With pkeyutl, RSA keys are used to perform the encrypting and decrypting, whereas with
enc, symmetric algorithms are used.
Using RSA Keys

To encrypt a file called plaintext, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl pkeyutl -in plaintext -out cyphertext -inkey privkey.pem
The default format for keys and certificates is PEM. If required, use the -keyform DER option to specify
the DER key format.
To specify a cryptographic engine, use the -engine option as follows:
~]$ openssl pkeyutl -in plaintext -out cyphertext -inkey privkey.pem -

engine id
Where id is the ID of the cryptographic engine. To check the availability of an engine, issue the following
command:
~]$ openssl engine -t
To sign a data file called plaintext, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl pkeyutl -sign -in plaintext -out sigtext -inkey privkey.pem
To verify a signed data file and to extract the data, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl pkeyutl -verifyrecover -in sig -inkey key.pem
To verify the signature, for example using a DSA key, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl pkeyutl -verify -in file -sigfile sig -inkey key.pem
The pkeyutl(1) manual page describes the public key algorithm utility.
Using Symmetric Algorithms

To list available symmetric encryption algorithms, execute the enc command with an unsupported
option, such as -l:
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~]$ openssl enc -l
To specify an algorithm, use its name as an option. For example, to use the aes-128-cbc algorithm,
use the following syntax:
openssl enc -aes-128-cbc
To encrypt a file called plaintext using the aes-128-cbc algorithm, enter the following command:
~]$ openssl enc -aes-128-cbc -in plaintext -out plaintext.aes-128-cbc
To decrypt the file obtained in the previous example, use the -d option as in the following example:
~]$ openssl enc -aes-128-cbc -d -in plaintext.aes-128-cbc -out plaintext
IMPORTANT
The enc command does not properly support AEAD ciphers, and the ecb mode is not
considered secure. For best results, do not use other modes than cbc, cfb, ofb, or ctr.
4.7.5. Generating Message Digests

The dgst command produces the message digest of a supplied file or files in hexadecimal form. The
command can also be used for digital signing and verification. The message digest command takes the
following form:
openssl dgst algorithm -out filename -sign private-key
Where algorithm is one of md5|md4|md2|sha1|sha|mdc2|ripemd160|dss1. At time of writing, the

SHA1 algorithm is preferred. If you need to sign or verify using DSA, then the dss1 option must be used
together with a file containing random data specified by the -rand option.
To produce a message digest in the default Hex format using the sha1 algorithm, issue the following
command:
~]$ openssl dgst sha1 -out digest-file
To digitally sign the digest, using a private key privekey.pem, issue the following command:
~]$ openssl dgst sha1 -out digest-file -sign privkey.pem
See man dgst(1) for more information.
4.7.6. Generating Password Hashes

The passwd command computes the hash of a password. To compute the hash of a password on the
command line, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl passwd password
The -crypt algorithm is used by default.
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To compute the hash of a password from standard input, using the MD5 based BSD algorithm 1, issue a
command as follows:
~]$ openssl passwd -1 password
The -apr1 option specifies the Apache variant of the BSD algorithm.
To compute the hash of a password stored in a file, and using a salt xx, issue a command as follows:
~]$ openssl passwd -salt xx -in password-file
The password is sent to standard output and there is no -out option to specify an output file. The -
table will generate a table of password hashes with their corresponding clear text password.
See man sslpasswd(1) for more information and examples.
4.7.7. Generating Random Data

To generate a file containing random data, using a seed file, issue the following command:
~]$ openssl rand -out rand-file -rand seed-file
Multiple files for seeding the random data process can be specified using the colon, :, as a list separator.
See man rand(1) for more information.
4.7.8. Benchmarking Your System

To test the computational speed of a system for a given algorithm, issue a command in the following
format:
~]$ openssl speed algorithm
where algorithm is one of the supported algorithms you intended to use. To list the available algorithms,
type openssl speed and then press tab.
4.7.9. Configuring OpenSSL

OpenSSL has a configuration file /etc/pki/tls/openssl.cnf, referred to as the master
configuration file, which is read by the OpenSSL library. It is also possible to have individual
configuration files for each application. The configuration file contains a number of sections with section
names as follows: [ section_name ]. Note the first part of the file, up until the first [
section_name ], is referred to as the default section. When OpenSSL is searching for names in the
configuration file the named sections are searched first. All OpenSSL commands use the master
OpenSSL configuration file unless an option is used in the command to specify an alternative
configuration file. The configuration file is explained in detail in the config(5) man page.
Two RFCs explain the contents of a certificate file. They are:
Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Profile
Updates to the Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List
(CRL) Profile
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4.8. USING STUNNEL

The stunnel program is an encryption wrapper between a client and a server. It listens on the port
specified in its configuration file, encrypts the communitation with the client, and forwards the data to the
original daemon listening on its usual port. This way, you can secure any service that itself does not
support any type of encryption, or improve the security of a service that uses a type of encryption that
you want to avoid for security reasons, such as SSL versions 2 and 3, affected by the POODLE SSL
vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1234773 for details. CUPS is an
example of a component that does not provide a way to disable SSL in its own configuration.
4.8.1. Installing stunnel

Install the stunnel package by entering the following command as root:
~]# yum install stunnel
4.8.2. Configuring stunnel as a TLS Wrapper

To configure stunnel, follow these steps:
1. You need a valid certificate for stunnel regardless of what service you use it with. If you do not
have a suitable certificate, you can apply to a Certificate Authority to obtain one, or you can
create a self-signed certificate.

WARNING
Always use certificates signed by a Certificate Authority for servers running

in a production environment. Self-signed certificates are only appropriate for
testing purposes or private networks.
See Section 4.7.2.1, “Creating a Certificate Signing Request” for more information about
certificates granted by a Certificate Authority. On the other hand, to create a self-signed
certificate for stunnel, enter the /etc/pki/tls/certs/ directory and type the following
command as root:
certs]# make stunnel.pem
Answer all of the questions to complete the process.
2. When you have a certificate, create a configuration file for stunnel. It is a text file in which every
line specifies an option or the beginning of a service definition. You can also keep comments
and empty lines in the file to improve its legibility, where comments start with a semicolon.
The stunnel RPM package contains the /etc/stunnel/ directory, in which you can store the
configuration file. Although stunnel does not require any special format of the file name or its
extension, use /etc/stunnel/stunnel.conf. The following content configures stunnel as a
TLS wrapper:
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cert = /etc/pki/tls/certs/stunnel.pem
; Allow only TLS, thus avoiding SSL
sslVersion = TLSv1
chroot = /var/run/stunnel
setuid = nobody
setgid = nobody
pid = /stunnel.pid
socket = l:TCP_NODELAY=1
socket = r:TCP_NODELAY=1
[service_name]
accept = port
connect = port
TIMEOUTclose = 0
Alternatively, you can avoid SSL by replacing the line containing sslVersion = TLSv1 with
the following lines:
options = NO_SSLv2
options = NO_SSLv3
The purpose of the options is as follows:
cert — the path to your certificate
sslVersion — the version of SSL; note that you can use TLS here even though SSL and
TLS are two independent cryptographic protocols
chroot — the changed root directory in which the stunnel process runs, for greater security
setuid, setgid — the user and group that the stunnel process runs as; nobody is a
restricted system account
pid — the file in which stunnel saves its process ID, relative to chroot
socket — local and remote socket options; in this case, disable Nagle's algorithm to
improve network latency
[service_name] — the beginning of the service definition; the options used below this line
apply to the given service only, whereas the options above affect stunnel globally
accept — the port to listen on
connect — the port to connect to; this must be the port that the service you are securing
uses
TIMEOUTclose — how many seconds to wait for the close_notify alert from the client; 0
instructs stunnel not to wait at all
options — OpenSSL library options
Example 4.3. Securing CUPS
To configure stunnel as a TLS wrapper for CUPS, use the following values:
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[cups]
accept = 632
connect = 631
Instead of 632, you can use any free port that you prefer. 631 is the port that CUPS normally
uses.
3. Create the chroot directory and give the user specified by the setuid option write access to it.
To do so, enter the following commands as root:
~]# mkdir /var/run/stunnel

~]# chown nobody:nobody /var/run/stunnel
This allows stunnel to create the PID file.
4. If your system is using firewall settings that disallow access to the new port, change them
accordingly. See Section 5.6.7, “Opening Ports using GUI” for details.
5. When you have created the configuration file and the chroot directory, and when you are sure
that the specified port is accessible, you are ready to start using stunnel.
4.8.3. Starting, Stopping, and Restarting stunnel

To start stunnel, enter the following command as root:
~]# stunnel /etc/stunnel/stunnel.conf
By default, stunnel uses /var/log/secure to log its output.
To terminate stunnel, kill the process by running the following command as root:
~]# kill `cat /var/run/stunnel/stunnel.pid`
If you edit the configuration file while stunnel is running, terminate stunnel and start it again for your
changes to take effect.
4.9. ENCRYPTION
4.9.1. Using LUKS Disk Encryption

Linux Unified Key Setup-on-disk-format (or LUKS) allows you to encrypt partitions on your Linux
computer. This is particularly important when it comes to mobile computers and removable media. LUKS
allows multiple user keys to decrypt a master key, which is used for the bulk encryption of the partition.
Overview of LUKS
What LUKS does
LUKS encrypts entire block devices and is therefore well-suited for protecting the contents of
mobile devices such as removable storage media or laptop disk drives.
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The underlying contents of the encrypted block device are arbitrary. This makes it useful for
encrypting swap devices. This can also be useful with certain databases that use specially
formatted block devices for data storage.
LUKS uses the existing device mapper kernel subsystem.
LUKS provides passphrase strengthening which protects against dictionary attacks.
LUKS devices contain multiple key slots, allowing users to add backup keys or passphrases.
What LUKS does not do:
LUKS is not well-suited for applications requiring many (more than eight) users to have
distinct access keys to the same device.
LUKS is not well-suited for applications requiring file-level encryption.
4.9.1.1. LUKS Implementation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 utilizes LUKS to perform file system encryption. By default, the option to
encrypt the file system is unchecked during the installation. If you select the option to encrypt your hard
drive, you will be prompted for a passphrase that will be asked every time you boot the computer. This
passphrase "unlocks" the bulk encryption key that is used to decrypt your partition. If you choose to
modify the default partition table you can choose which partitions you want to encrypt. This is set in the
partition table settings.
The default cipher used for LUKS (see cryptsetup --help) is aes-xts-plain64. The default key size
for LUKS is 256 bits. The default key size for LUKS with Anaconda (XTS mode) is 512 bits. Ciphers that
are available are:
AES - Advanced Encryption Standard - FIPS PUB 197
Twofish (A 128-bit Block Cipher)
Serpent
cast5 - RFC 2144
cast6 - RFC 2612
4.9.1.2. Manually Encrypting Directories

WARNING
Following this procedure will remove all data on the partition that you are encrypting.
You WILL lose all your information! Make sure you backup your data to an external
source before beginning this procedure!
1. Enter runlevel 1 by typing the following at a shell prompt as root:
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telinit 1
2. Unmount your existing /home:
umount /home
3. If the command in the previous step fails, use fuser to find processes hogging /home and kill
them:
fuser -mvk /home
4. Verify /home is no longer mounted:
grep home /proc/mounts
5. Fill your partition with random data:
shred -v --iterations=1 /dev/VG00/LV_home
This command proceeds at the sequential write speed of your device and may take some time to
complete. It is an important step to ensure no unencrypted data is left on a used device, and to
obfuscate the parts of the device that contain encrypted data as opposed to just random data.
6. Initialize your partition:
cryptsetup --verbose --verify-passphrase luksFormat

/dev/VG00/LV_home
7. Open the newly encrypted device:
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/VG00/LV_home home
8. Make sure the device is present:
ls -l /dev/mapper | grep home
9. Create a file system:
mkfs.ext3 /dev/mapper/home
10. Mount the file system:
mount /dev/mapper/home /home
11. Make sure the file system is visible:
df -h | grep home
12. Add the following to the /etc/crypttab file:
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home /dev/VG00/LV_home none
13. Edit the /etc/fstab file, removing the old entry for /home and adding the following line:
/dev/mapper/home /home ext3 defaults 1 2
14. Restore default SELinux security contexts:
/sbin/restorecon -v -R /home
15. Reboot the machine:
shutdown -r now
16. The entry in the /etc/crypttab makes your computer ask your luks passphrase on boot.
17. Log in as root and restore your backup.
You now have an encrypted partition for all of your data to safely rest while the computer is off.
4.9.1.3. Add a New Passphrase to an Existing Device
Use the following command to add a new passphrase to an existing device:
cryptsetup luksAddKey device
After being prompted for any one of the existing passprases for authentication, you will be prompted to
enter the new passphrase.
4.9.1.4. Remove a Passphrase from an Existing Device
Use the following command to remove a passphrase from an existing device:
cryptsetup luksRemoveKey device
You will be prompted for the passphrase you want to remove and then for any one of the remaining
passphrases for authentication.
4.9.1.5. Creating Encrypted Block Devices in Anaconda
You can create encrypted devices during system installation. This allows you to easily configure a
system with encrypted partitions.
To enable block device encryption, check the Encrypt System check box when selecting automatic
partitioning or the Encrypt check box when creating an individual partition, software RAID array, or
logical volume. After you finish partitioning, you will be prompted for an encryption passphrase. This
passphrase will be required to access the encrypted devices. If you have pre-existing LUKS devices and
provided correct passphrases for them earlier in the install process the passphrase entry dialog will also
contain a check box. Checking this check box indicates that you would like the new passphrase to be
added to an available slot in each of the pre-existing encrypted block devices.
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NOTE
Checking the Encrypt System check box on the Automatic Partitioning screen
and then choosing Create custom layout does not cause any block devices to be
encrypted automatically.
NOTE
You can use kickstart to set a separate passphrase for each new encrypted block
device.
For additional information on LUKS or encrypting hard drives under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 visit one
of the following links:
LUKS home page
LUKS/cryptsetup FAQ
LUKS - Linux Unified Key Setup Wikipedia article
HOWTO: Creating an encrypted Physical Volume (PV) using a second hard drive and pvmove
4.9.2. Creating GPG Keys

GPG is used to identify yourself and authenticate your communications, including those with people you
do not know. GPG allows anyone reading a GPG-signed email to verify its authenticity. In other words,
GPG allows someone to be reasonably certain that communications signed by you actually are from you.
GPG is useful because it helps prevent third parties from altering code or intercepting conversations and
altering the message.
4.9.2.1. Creating GPG Keys in GNOME
To create a GPG Key in GNOME, follow these steps:
1. Install the Seahorse utility, which makes GPG key management easier:
~]# yum install seahorse
2. To create a key, from the Applications → Accessories menu select Passwords and
Encryption Keys, which starts the application Seahorse.
3. From the File menu select New and then PGP Key. Then click Continue.
4. Type your full name, email address, and an optional comment describing who you are (for
example: John C. Smith, [email protected], Software Engineer). Click Create. A dialog
is displayed asking for a passphrase for the key. Choose a strong passphrase but also easy to
remember. Click OK and the key is created.
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
WARNING
If you forget your passphrase, you will not be able to decrypt the data.
To find your GPG key ID, look in the Key ID column next to the newly created key. In most cases, if you
are asked for the key ID, prepend 0x to the key ID, as in 0x6789ABCD. You should make a backup of
your private key and store it somewhere secure.
4.9.2.2. Creating GPG Keys in KDE
To create a GPG Key in KDE, follow these steps:
1. Start the KGpg program from the main menu by selecting Applications → Utilities →
Encryption Tool. If you have never used KGpg before, the program walks you through the
process of creating your own GPG keypair.
2. A dialog box appears prompting you to create a new key pair. Enter your name, email address,
and an optional comment. You can also choose an expiration time for your key, as well as the
key strength (number of bits) and algorithms.
3. Enter your passphrase in the next dialog box. At this point, your key appears in the main KGpg
window.

WARNING
If you forget your passphrase, you will not be able to decrypt the data.
To find your GPG key ID, look in the Key ID column next to the newly created key. In most cases, if you
are asked for the key ID, prepend 0x to the key ID, as in 0x6789ABCD. You should make a backup of
your private key and store it somewhere secure.
4.9.2.3. Creating GPG Keys Using the Command Line
1. Use the following shell command:
~]$ gpg2 --gen-key
This command generates a key pair that consists of a public and a private key. Other people use
your public key to authenticate and decrypt your communications. Distribute your public key as
widely as possible, especially to people who you know will want to receive authentic
communications from you, such as a mailing list.
2. A series of prompts directs you through the process. Press the Enter key to assign a default
value if desired. The first prompt asks you to select what kind of key you prefer:
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Please select what kind of key you want:

(1) RSA and RSA (default)
(2) DSA and Elgamal
(3) DSA (sign only)
(4) RSA (sign only)
Your selection?
In almost all cases, the default is the correct choice. An RSA/RSA key allows you not only to sign
communications, but also to encrypt files.
3. Choose the key size:
RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048)
Again, the default, 2048, is sufficient for almost all users, and represents an extremely strong
level of security.
4. Choose when the key will expire. It is a good idea to choose an expiration date instead of using
the default, which is none. If, for example, the email address on the key becomes invalid, an
expiration date will remind others to stop using that public key.
Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire
d = key expires in n days
w = key expires in n weeks
m = key expires in n months
y = key expires in n years
key is valid for? (0)
Entering a value of 1y, for example, makes the key valid for one year. (You may change this
expiration date after the key is generated, if you change your mind.)
5. Before the gpg2 application asks for signature information, the following prompt appears:
Is this correct (y/N)?
Enter y to finish the process.
6. Enter your name and email address for your GPG key. Remember this process is about
authenticating you as a real individual. For this reason, include your real name. If you choose a
bogus email address, it will be more difficult for others to find your public key. This makes
authenticating your communications difficult. If you are using this GPG key for self-introduction
on a mailing list, for example, enter the email address you use on that list.
Use the comment field to include aliases or other information. (Some people use different keys
for different purposes and identify each key with a comment, such as "Office" or "Open Source
Projects.")
7. At the confirmation prompt, enter the letter O to continue if all entries are correct, or use the other
options to fix any problems. Finally, enter a passphrase for your secret key. The gpg2 program
asks you to enter your passphrase twice to ensure you made no typing errors.
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8. Finally, gpg2 generates random data to make your key as unique as possible. Move your
mouse, type random keys, or perform other tasks on the system during this step to speed up the
process. Once this step is finished, your keys are complete and ready to use:
pub 1024D/1B2AFA1C 2005-03-31 John Q. Doe <[email protected]>

Key fingerprint = 117C FE83 22EA B843 3E86 6486 4320 545E 1B2A FA1C
sub 1024g/CEA4B22E 2005-03-31 [expires: 2006-03-31]
9. The key fingerprint is a shorthand "signature" for your key. It allows you to confirm to others that
they have received your actual public key without any tampering. You do not need to write this
fingerprint down. To display the fingerprint at any time, use this command, substituting your
email address:
~]$ gpg2 --fingerprint [email protected]
Your "GPG key ID" consists of 8 hex digits identifying the public key. In the example above, the
GPG key ID is 1B2AFA1C. In most cases, if you are asked for the key ID, prepend 0x to the key
ID, as in 0x6789ABCD.

WARNING
If you forget your passphrase, the key cannot be used and any data encrypted using
that key will be lost.
4.9.2.4. About Public Key Encryption
1. Wikipedia - Public Key Cryptography
2. HowStuffWorks - Encryption
4.9.3. Using openCryptoki for Public-Key Cryptography

openCryptoki is a Linux implementation of PKCS#11, which is a Public-Key Cryptography Standard that
defines an application programming interface (API) to cryptographic devices called tokens. Tokens may
be implemented in hardware or software. This chapter provides an overview of the way the
openCryptoki system is installed, configured, and used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
4.9.3.1. Installing openCryptoki and Starting the Service
To install the basic openCryptoki packages on your system, including a software implementation of a
token for testing purposes, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install opencryptoki
Depending on the type of hardware tokens you intend to use, you may need to install additional
packages that provide support for your specific use case. For example, to obtain support for Trusted
Platform Module (TPM) devices, you need to install the opencryptoki-tpmtok package.
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See the Installing Packages section of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide for
general information on how to install packages using the Yum package manager.
To enable the openCryptoki service, you need to run the pkcsslotd daemon. Start the daemon for the
current session by executing the following command as root:
~]# systemctl start pkcsslotd
To ensure that the service is automatically started at boot time, enter the following command:
~]# systemctl enable pkcsslotd
See the Managing Services with systemd chapter of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System
Administrator's Guide for more information on how to use systemd targets to manage services.
4.9.3.2. Configuring and Using openCryptoki
When started, the pkcsslotd daemon reads the /etc/opencryptoki/opencryptoki.conf

configuration file, which it uses to collect information about the tokens configured to work with the system
and about their slots.
The file defines the individual slots using key-value pairs. Each slot definition can contain a description, a
specification of the token library to be used, and an ID of the slot's manufacturer. Optionally, the version
of the slot's hardware and firmware may be defined. See the opencryptoki.conf(5) manual page for a
description of the file's format and for a more detailed description of the individual keys and the values
that can be assigned to them.
To modify the behavior of the pkcsslotd daemon at run time, use the pkcsconf utility. This tool allows
you to show and configure the state of the daemon, as well as to list and modify the currently configured
slots and tokens. For example, to display information about tokens, issue the following command (note
that all non-root users that need to communicate with the pkcsslotd daemon must be a part of the
pkcs11 system group):
~]$ pkcsconf -t
See the pkcsconf(1) manual page for a list of arguments available with the pkcsconf tool.

WARNING
Keep in mind that only fully trusted users should be assigned membership in the
pkcs11 group, as all members of this group have the right to block other users of
the openCryptoki service from accessing configured PKCS#11 tokens. All
members of this group can also execute arbitrary code with the privileges of any
other users of openCryptoki.
4.9.4. Using Smart Cards to Supply Credentials to OpenSSH
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The smart card is a lightweight hardware security module in a USB stick, MicroSD, or SmartCard form
factor. It provides a remotely manageable secure key store. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, OpenSSH
supports authentication using smart cards.
To use your smart card with OpenSSH, store the public key from the card to the
~/.ssh/authorized_keys file. Install the PKCS#11 library provided by the opensc package on the
client. PKCS#11 is a Public-Key Cryptography Standard that defines an application programming
interface (API) to cryptographic devices called tokens. Enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install opensc
4.9.4.1. Retrieving a Public Key from a Card
To list the keys on your card, use the ssh-keygen command. Specify the shared library (OpenSC in the
following example) with the -D directive.
~]$ ssh-keygen -D /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc[...]+g4Mb9
4.9.4.2. Storing a Public Key on a Server
To enable authentication using a smart card on a remote server, transfer the public key to the remote
server. Do it by copying the retrieved string (key) and pasting it to the remote shell, or by storing your key
to a file (smartcard.pub in the following example) and using the ssh-copy-id command:
~]$ ssh-copy-id -f -i smartcard.pub user@hostname

user@hostname's password:
Number of key(s) added: 1
Now try logging into the machine, with: "ssh user@hostname"

and check to make sure that only the key(s) you wanted were added.
Storing a public key without a private key file requires to use the SSH_COPY_ID_LEGACY=1 environment
variable or the -f option.
4.9.4.3. Authenticating to a Server with a Key on a Smart Card
OpenSSH can read your public key from a smart card and perform operations with your private key
without exposing the key itself. This means that the private key does not leave the card. To connect to a
remote server using your smart card for authentication, enter the following command and enter the PIN
protecting your card:
[localhost ~]$ ssh -I /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so hostname

Enter PIN for 'Test (UserPIN)':
[hostname ~]$
Replace the hostname with the actual host name to which you want to connect.
To save unnecessary typing next time you connect to the remote server, store the path to the PKCS#11
library in your ~/.ssh/config file:
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Security Guide
Host hostname
PKCS11Provider /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so
Connect by running the ssh command without any additional options:
[localhost ~]$ ssh hostname

[hostname ~]$
4.9.4.4. Using ssh-agent to Automate PIN Logging In
Set up environmental variables to start using ssh-agent. You can skip this step in most cases because
ssh-agent is already running in a typical session. Use the following command to check whether you
can connect to your authentication agent:
~]$ ssh-add -l
Could not open a connection to your authentication agent.
~]$ eval `ssh-agent`
To avoid writing your PIN every time you connect using this key, add the card to the agent by running the
following command:
~]$ ssh-add -s /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so

Card added: /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so
To remove the card from ssh-agent, use the following command:
~]$ ssh-add -e /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so

Card removed: /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so
NOTE
FIPS 201-2 requires explicit user action by the Personal Identity Verification (PIV)
cardholder as a condition for use of the digital signature key stored on the card. OpenSC
correctly enforces this requirement.
However, for some applications it is impractical to require the cardholder to enter the PIN
for each signature. To cache the smart card PIN, remove the # character before the
pin_cache_ignore_user_consent = true; option in the /etc/opensc-
x86_64.conf.
See the Cardholder Authentication for the PIV Digital Signature Key (NISTIR 7863) report
for more information.
Setting up your hardware or software token is described in the Smart Card support in Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 7 article.
For more information about the pkcs11-tool utility for managing and using smart cards and similar
PKCS#11 security tokens, see the pkcs11-tool(1) man page.
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4.9.5. Trusted and Encrypted Keys

Trusted and encrypted keys are variable-length symmetric keys generated by the kernel that utilize the
kernel keyring service. The fact that the keys never appear in user space in an unencrypted form means
that their integrity can be verified, which in turn means that they can be used, for example, by the
extended verification module (EVM) to verify and confirm the integrity of a running system. User-level
programs can only ever access the keys in the form of encrypted blobs.
Trusted keys need a hardware component: the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, which is used to
both create and encrypt (seal) the keys. The TPM seals the keys using a 2048-bit RSA key called the
storage root key (SRK).
In addition to that, trusted keys may also be sealed using a specific set of the TPM's platform
configuration register (PCR) values. The PCR contains a set of integrity-management values that reflect
the BIOS, boot loader, and operating system. This means that PCR-sealed keys can only be decrypted
by the TPM on the exact same system on which they were encrypted. However, once a PCR-sealed
trusted key is loaded (added to a keyring), and thus its associated PCR values are verified, it can be
updated with new (or future) PCR values, so that a new kernel, for example, can be booted. A single key
can also be saved as multiple blobs, each with different PCR values.
Encrypted keys do not require a TPM, as they use the kernel AES encryption, which makes them faster
than trusted keys. Encrypted keys are created using kernel-generated random numbers and encrypted
by a master key when they are exported into user-space blobs. This master key can be either a trusted
key or a user key, which is their main disadvantage — if the master key is not a trusted key, the
encrypted key is only as secure as the user key used to encrypt it.
4.9.5.1. Working with Keys
Prior to any operations with keys, relevant kernel modules need to be loaded. For trusted keys, it is the
trusted module, and for encrypted keys, it is the encrypted-keys module. Use the following command
as the root user to load both of these modules at once:
~]# modprobe trusted encrypted-keys
Trusted and encrypted keys can be created, loaded, exported, and updated using the keyctl utility. For
detailed information about using keyctl, see keyctl(1).
NOTE
In order to use a TPM (such as for creating and sealing trusted keys), it needs to be
enabled and active. This can be usually achieved through a setting in the machine's BIOS
or using the tpm_setactive command from the tpm-tools package of utilities. Also, the
TrouSers application needs to be installed (the trousers package), and the tcsd daemon,
which is a part of the TrouSers suite, running to communicate with the TPM.
To create a trusted key using a TPM, execute the keyctl command with the following syntax:
keyctl add trusted name "new keylength [options]" keyring
Using the above syntax, an example command can be constructed as follows:
~]$ keyctl add trusted kmk "new 32" @u

642500861
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The above example creates a trusted key called kmk with the length of 32 bytes (256 bits) and places it
in the user keyring (@u). The keys may have a length of 32 to 128 bytes (256 to 1024 bits). Use the show
subcommand to list the current structure of the kernel keyrings:
~]$ keyctl show

Session Keyring
-3 --alswrv 500 500 keyring: _ses
97833714 --alswrv 500 -1 \_ keyring: _uid.1000
642500861 --alswrv 500 500 \_ trusted: kmk
The print subcommand outputs the encrypted key to the standard output. To export the key to a user-
space blob, use the pipe subcommand as follows:
~]$ keyctl pipe 642500861 > kmk.blob
To load the trusted key from the user-space blob, use the add command again with the blob as an
argument:
~]$ keyctl add trusted kmk "load `cat kmk.blob`" @u

268728824
The TPM-sealed trusted key can then be employed to create secure encrypted keys. The following
command syntax is used for generating encrypted keys:
~]$ keyctl add encrypted name "new [format] key-type:master-key-name

keylength" keyring
Based on the above syntax, a command for generating an encrypted key using the already created
trusted key can be constructed as follows:
~]$ keyctl add encrypted encr-key "new trusted:kmk 32" @u

159771175
To create an encrypted key on systems where a TPM is not available, use a random sequence of
numbers to generate a user key, which is then used to seal the actual encrypted keys.
~]$ keyctl add user kmk-user "`dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1 count=32

2>/dev/null`" @u
427069434
Then generate the encrypted key using the random-number user key:
~]$ keyctl add encrypted encr-key "new user:kmk-user 32" @u

1012412758
The list subcommand can be used to list all keys in the specified kernel keyring:
~]$ keyctl list @u

2 keys in keyring:
427069434: --alswrv 1000 1000 user: kmk-user
1012412758: --alswrv 1000 1000 encrypted: encr-key
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IMPORTANT
Keep in mind that encrypted keys that are not sealed by a master trusted key are only as
secure as the user master key (random-number key) used to encrypt them. Therefore, the
master user key should be loaded as securely as possible and preferably early during the
boot process.
The following offline and online resources can be used to acquire additional information pertaining to the
use of trusted and encrypted keys.
keyctl(1) — Describes the use of the keyctl utility and its subcommands.
and Administrator's Guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 describes the basic principles of
SELinux and documents in detail how to configure and use SELinux with various services, such
as the Apache HTTP Server.
https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/security/keys-trusted-encrypted.txt — The official

documentation about the trusted and encrypted keys feature of the Linux kernel.
See Also
Section A.1.1, “Advanced Encryption Standard — AES” provides a concise description of the
Advanced Encryption Standard.
Section A.2, “Public-key Encryption” describes the public-key cryptographic approach and the
various cryptographic protocols it uses.
4.9.6. Using the Random Number Generator

In order to be able to generate secure cryptographic keys that cannot be easily broken, a source of
random numbers is required. Generally, the more random the numbers are, the better the chance of
obtaining unique keys. Entropy for generating random numbers is usually obtained from computing
environmental "noise" or using a hardware random number generator.
The rngd daemon, which is a part of the rng-tools package, is capable of using both environmental
noise and hardware random number generators for extracting entropy. The daemon checks whether the
data supplied by the source of randomness is sufficiently random and then stores it in the random-
number entropy pool of the kernel. The random numbers it generates are made available through the
/dev/random and /dev/urandom character devices.
The difference between /dev/random and /dev/urandom is that the former is a blocking device,
which means it stops supplying numbers when it determines that the amount of entropy is insufficient for
generating a properly random output. Conversely, /dev/urandom is a non-blocking source, which
reuses the entropy pool of the kernel and is thus able to provide an unlimited supply of pseudo-random
numbers, albeit with less entropy. As such, /dev/urandom should not be used for creating long-term
cryptographic keys.
To install the rng-tools package, issue the following command as the root user:
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Security Guide
~]# yum install rng-tools
To start the rngd daemon, execute the following command as root:
~]# systemctl start rngd
To query the status of the daemon, use the following command:
~]# systemctl status rngd
To start the rngd daemon with optional parameters, execute it directly. For example, to specify an
alternative source of random-number input (other than /dev/hwrandom), use the following command:
~]# rngd --rng-device=/dev/hwrng
The above command starts the rngd daemon with /dev/hwrng as the device from which random
numbers are read. Similarly, you can use the -o (or --random-device) option to choose the kernel
device for random-number output (other than the default /dev/random). See the rngd(8) manual page
for a list of all available options.
To check which sources of entropy are available in a given system, execute the following command as
root:
~]# rngd -vf

Unable to open file: /dev/tpm0
Available entropy sources:
DRNG
NOTE
After entering the rngd -v command, the according process continues running in
background. The -b, --background option (become a daemon) is applied by default.
If there is not any TPM device present, you will see only the Intel Digital Random Number Generator
(DRNG) as a source of entropy. To check if your CPU supports the RDRAND processor instruction,
~]$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep rdrand
NOTE
For more information and software code examples, see Intel Digital Random Number
Generator (DRNG) Software Implementation Guide.
The rng-tools package also contains the rngtest utility, which can be used to check the randomness of
data. To test the level of randomness of the output of /dev/random, use the rngtest tool as follows:
~]$ cat /dev/random | rngtest -c 1000

rngtest 5
Copyright (c) 2004 by Henrique de Moraes Holschuh
114
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
rngtest: starting FIPS tests...

rngtest: bits received from input: 20000032
rngtest: FIPS 140-2 successes: 998
rngtest: FIPS 140-2 failures: 2
rngtest: FIPS 140-2(2001-10-10) Monobit: 0
rngtest: FIPS 140-2(2001-10-10) Poker: 0
rngtest: FIPS 140-2(2001-10-10) Runs: 0
rngtest: FIPS 140-2(2001-10-10) Long run: 2
rngtest: FIPS 140-2(2001-10-10) Continuous run: 0
rngtest: input channel speed: (min=1.171; avg=8.453; max=11.374)Mibits/s
rngtest: FIPS tests speed: (min=15.545; avg=143.126; max=157.632)Mibits/s
rngtest: Program run time: 2390520 microseconds
A high number of failures shown in the output of the rngtest tool indicates that the randomness of the
tested data is insufficient and should not be relied upon. See the rngtest(1) manual page for a list of
options available for the rngtest utility.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 introduced the virtio RNG (Random Number Generator) device that provides
KVM virtual machines with access to entropy from the host machine. With the recommended setup,
hwrng feeds into the entropy pool of the host Linux kernel (through /dev/random), and QEMU will use
/dev/random as the source for entropy requested by guests.
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Figure 4.1. The virtio RNG device
Previously, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 guests could make use of the
entropy from hosts through the rngd user space daemon. Setting up the daemon was a manual step for
each Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1, the manual step has been
eliminated, making the entire process seamless and automatic. The use of rngd is now not required and
the guest kernel itself fetches entropy from the host when the available entropy falls below a specific
threshold. The guest kernel is then in a position to make random numbers available to applications as
soon as they request them.
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux installer, Anaconda, now provides the virtio-rng module in its installer
image, making available host entropy during the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation.
4.10. CONFIGURING AUTOMATED UNLOCKING OF ENCRYPTED

VOLUMES USING POLICY-BASED DECRYPTION
The Policy-Based Decryption (PBD) is a collection of technologies that enable unlocking encrypted root
and secondary volumes of hard drives on physical and virtual machines. PBD uses a variety of unlocking
methods, such as user passwords, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) device, a PKCS#11 device
connected to a system, for example, a smart card, or a special network server.
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PBD allows combining different unlocking methods into a policy, which makes it possible to unlock the
same volume in different ways. The current implementation of the PBD in Red Hat Enterprise Linux
consists of the Clevis framework and plug-ins called pins. Each pin provides a separate unlocking
capability. Currently, the following pins are available:
tang - allows volumes to be unlocked using a network server
tpm2 - allows volumes to be unlocked using a TPM2 policy
The Network Bound Disc Encryption (NBDE) is a subcategory of PBD that allows binding encrypted
volumes to a special network server. The current implementation of the NBDE includes a Clevis pin for
Tang server and the Tang server itself.
4.10.1. Network-Bound Disk Encryption

The Network-Bound Disk Encryption (NBDE) allows the user to encrypt root volumes of hard drives on
physical and virtual machines without requiring to manually enter a password when systems are
restarted.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, NBDE is implemented through the following components and
technologies:
Figure 4.2. The Network-Bound Disk Encryption using Clevis and Tang
Tang is a server for binding data to network presence. It makes a system containing your data available
when the system is bound to a certain secure network. Tang is stateless and does not require TLS or
authentication. Unlike escrow-based solutions, where the server stores all encryption keys and has
knowledge of every key ever used, Tang never interacts with any client keys, so it never gains any
identifying information from the client.
Clevis is a pluggable framework for automated decryption. In NBDE, Clevis provides automated
unlocking of LUKS volumes. The clevis package provides the client side of the feature.
A Clevis pin is a plug-in into the Clevis framework. One of such pins is a plug-in that implements
interactions with the NBDE server — Tang.
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Clevis and Tang are generic client and server components that provide network-bound encryption. In
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, they are used in conjunction with LUKS to encrypt and decrypt root and
non-root storage volumes to accomplish Network-Bound Disk Encryption.
Both client- and server-side components use the José library to perform encryption and decryption
operations.
When you begin provisioning NBDE, the Clevis pin for Tang server gets a list of the Tang server's
advertised asymmetric keys. Alternatively, since the keys are asymmetric, a list of Tang’s public keys
can be distributed out of band so that clients can operate without access to the Tang server. This mode
is called offline provisioning.
The Clevis pin for Tang uses one of the public keys to generate a unique, cryptographically-strong
encryption key. Once the data is encrypted using this key, the key is discarded. The Clevis client should
store the state produced by this provisioning operation in a convenient location. This process of
encrypting data is the provisioning step. The provisioning state for NBDE is stored in the LUKS header
leveraging the luksmeta package.
When the client is ready to access its data, it loads the metadata produced in the provisioning step and it
responds to recover the encryption key. This process is the recovery step.
In NBDE, Clevis binds a LUKS volume using a pin so that it can be automatically unlocked. After
successful completion of the binding process, the disk can be unlocked using the provided Dracut
unlocker.
4.10.2. Installing an Encryption Client - Clevis

To install the Clevis pluggable framework and its pins on a machine (client) with an encrypted volume,
enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install clevis
To decrypt data, use the clevis decrypt command and provide a cipher text in the JSON Web
Encryption (JWE) format, for example:
~]$ clevis decrypt < secret.jwe
For more information, see the built-in CLI help:
~]$ clevis
Usage: clevis COMMAND [OPTIONS]
clevis decrypt Decrypts using the policy defined at encryption time

clevis encrypt http Encrypts using a REST HTTP escrow server policy
clevis encrypt sss Encrypts using a Shamir's Secret Sharing policy
clevis encrypt tang Encrypts using a Tang binding server policy
clevis encrypt tpm2 Encrypts using a TPM2.0 chip binding policy
~]$ clevis decrypt

Usage: clevis decrypt < JWE > PLAINTEXT
Decrypts using the policy defined at encryption time
~]$ clevis encrypt tang

Usage: clevis encrypt tang CONFIG < PLAINTEXT > JWE
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Encrypts using a Tang binding server policy
This command uses the following configuration properties:
url: <string> The base URL of the Tang server (REQUIRED)
thp: <string> The thumbprint of a trusted signing key
adv: <string> A filename containing a trusted advertisement

adv: <object> A trusted advertisement (raw JSON)
Obtaining the thumbprint of a trusted signing key is easy. If you

have access to the Tang server's database directory, simply do:
$ jose jwk thp -i $DBDIR/$SIG.jwk
Alternatively, if you have certainty that your network connection

is not compromised (not likely), you can download the advertisement
yourself using:
$ curl -f $URL/adv > adv.jws
4.10.3. Deploying a Tang server

To install the tang package and its dependencies, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install tang
Enable and start the tangd service using systemd:
~]# systemctl enable tangd.socket --now

Created symlink from /etc/systemd/system/multi-
user.target.wants/tangd.socket to /usr/lib/systemd/system/tangd.socket.
Since tangd uses the systemd socket activation mechanism, the server starts as soon as the first
connection comes in. A new set of cryptographic keys is automatically generated at the first start.
To perform cryptographic operations such as manual key generation, use the jose utility. Enter the
jose -h command or see the jose(1) man pages for more information.
Example 4.4. Rotating Tang Keys
It is important to periodically rotate your keys. The precise interval at which you should rotate them
depends upon your application, key sizes, and institutional policy. For some common
recommendations, see the Cryptographic Key Length Recommendation page.
To rotate keys, start with the generation of new keys in the key database directory, typically
/var/db/tang. For example, you can create new signature and exchange keys with the following
commands:
~]# DB=/var/db/tang
~]# jose jwk gen -i '{"alg":"ES512"}' -o $DB/new_sig.jwk
~]# jose jwk gen -i '{"alg":"ECMR"}' -o $DB/new_exc.jwk
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Rename the old keys to have a leading . to hide them from advertisement. Note that the file names in
the following example differs from real and unique file names in the key database directory.
~]# mv $DB/old_sig.jwk $DB/.old_sig.jwk

~]# mv $DB/old_exc.jwk $DB/.old_exc.jwk
Tang immediately picks up all changes. No restart is required.
At this point, new client bindings pick up the new keys and old clients can continue to utilize the old
keys. When you are sure that all old clients use the new keys, you can remove the old keys.

WARNING
Be aware that removing the old keys while clients are still using them can result in
data loss.
Tang uses port 80 for communication. This port is also widely-used for web servers. To change Tang's
port number, override the tangd.socket unit file using the standard systemd mechanisms. See Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide: Creating and Modifying systemd Unit Files for
more information.
4.10.3.1. Deploying High-Availability Systems
Tang provides two methods for building a high-availability deployment:
1. Client Redundancy (Recommended)
Clients should be configured with the ability to bind to multiple Tang servers. In this setup, each
Tang server has its own keys and clients are able to decrypt by contacting a subset of these
servers. Clevis already supports this workflow through its sss plug-in.
For more information about this setup, see the following man pages:
tang(8), section High Availability
clevis(1), section Shamir's Secret Sharing
clevis-encrypt-sss(1)
Red Hat recommends this method for a high-availability deployment.
2. Key Sharing
For redundancy purposes, more than one instance of Tang can be deployed. To set up a second
or any subsequent instance, install the tang packages and copy the key directory to the new host
using rsync over SSH. Note that Red Hat does not recommend this method because sharing
keys increases the risk of key compromise and requires additional automation infrastructure.
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4.10.4. Deploying an Encryption Client for an NBDE system with Tang
Prerequisities
The Clevis framework is installed. See Section 4.10.2, “Installing an Encryption Client - Clevis”
A Tang server is available. See Section 4.10.3, “Deploying a Tang server”
Procedure
To bind a Clevis encryption client to a Tang server, use the clevis encrypt tang sub-command:
~]$ clevis encrypt tang '{"url":"http://tang.srv"}' < input-plain.txt >

secret.jwe
The advertisement contains the following signing keys:
_OsIk0T-E2l6qjfdDiwVmidoZjA
Do you wish to trust these keys? [ynYN] y
Change the http://tang.srv URL in the previous example to match the URL of the server where tang is
installed. The secret.jwe output file contains your encrypted cipher text in the JSON Web Encryption
format. This cipher text is read from the input-plain.txt input file.
To decrypt data, use the clevis decrypt command and provide the cipher text (JWE):
~]$ clevis decrypt < secret.jwe > output-plain.txt
For more information, see the clevis-encrypt-tang(1) man page or use the built-in CLI help:
~]$ clevis
Usage: clevis COMMAND [OPTIONS]
clevis decrypt Decrypts using the policy defined at encryption time

clevis encrypt http Encrypts using a REST HTTP escrow server policy
clevis encrypt sss Encrypts using a Shamir's Secret Sharing policy
clevis luks bind Binds a LUKSv1 device using the specified policy
clevis luks unlock Unlocks a LUKSv1 volume
~]$ clevis decrypt

Usage: clevis decrypt < JWE > PLAINTEXT
Decrypts using the policy defined at encryption time
~]$ clevis encrypt tang

Usage: clevis encrypt tang CONFIG < PLAINTEXT > JWE
Encrypts using a Tang binding server policy
This command uses the following configuration properties:
url: <string> The base URL of the Tang server (REQUIRED)
thp: <string> The thumbprint of a trusted signing key
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adv: <string> A filename containing a trusted advertisement

adv: <object> A trusted advertisement (raw JSON)
Obtaining the thumbprint of a trusted signing key is easy. If you

have access to the Tang server's database directory, simply do:
$ jose jwk thp -i $DBDIR/$SIG.jwk
Alternatively, if you have certainty that your network connection

is not compromised (not likely), you can download the advertisement
yourself using:
$ curl -f $URL/adv > adv.jws
4.10.5. Deploying an Encryption Client with a TPM 2.0 Policy

On systems with the 64-bit Intel or 64-bit AMD architecture, to deploy a client that encrypts using a
Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM 2.0) chip, use the clevis encrypt tpm2 sub-command with the
only argument in form of the JSON configuration object:
~]$ clevis encrypt tpm2 '{}' < input-plain.txt > secret.jwe
To choose a different hierarchy, hash, and key algorithms, specify configuration properties, for example:
~]$ clevis encrypt tpm2 '{"hash":"sha1","key":"rsa"}' < input-plain.txt >

secret.jwe
To decrypt the data, provide the ciphertext in the JSON Web Encryption (JWE) format:
~]$ clevis decrypt < secret.jwe > output-plain.txt
The pin also supports sealing data to a Platform Configuration Registers (PCR) state. That way, the data
can only be unsealed if the PCRs hashes values match the policy used when sealing.
For example, to seal the data to the PCR with index 0 and 1 for the SHA1 bank:
~]$ clevis encrypt tpm2 '{"pcr_bank":"sha1","pcr_ids":"0,1"}' < input-

plain.txt > secret.jwe
For more information and the list of possible configuration properties, see the clevis-encrypt-
tpm2(1) man page.
4.10.6. Configuring Manual Enrollment of Root Volumes

To automatically unlock an existing LUKS-encrypted root volume, install the clevis-luks subpackage and
bind the volume to a Tang server using the clevis luks bind command:
~]# yum install clevis-luks
~]# clevis luks bind -d /dev/sda tang '{"url":"http://tang.srv"}'

The advertisement contains the following signing keys:
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_OsIk0T-E2l6qjfdDiwVmidoZjA
Do you wish to trust these keys? [ynYN] y

You are about to initialize a LUKS device for metadata storage.
Attempting to initialize it may result in data loss if data was
already written into the LUKS header gap in a different format.
A backup is advised before initialization is performed.
Do you wish to initialize /dev/sda? [yn] y

Enter existing LUKS password:
This command performs four steps:
1. Creates a new key with the same entropy as the LUKS master key.
2. Encrypts the new key with Clevis.
3. Stores the Clevis JWE object in the LUKS header with LUKSMeta.
4. Enables the new key for use with LUKS.
This disk can now be unlocked with your existing password as well as with the Clevis policy. For more
information, see the clevis-luks-bind(1) man page.
NOTE
The binding procedure assumes that there is at least one free LUKS password slot. The
clevis luks bind command takes one of the slots.
To verify that the Clevis JWE object is successfully placed in a LUKS header, use the luksmeta show
command:
~]# luksmeta show -d /dev/sda

0 active empty
1 active cb6e8904-81ff-40da-a84a-07ab9ab5715e
2 inactive empty
3 inactive empty
4 inactive empty
5 inactive empty
6 inactive empty
7 inactive empty
To enable the early boot system to process the disk binding, enter the following commands on an
already installed system:
~]# yum install clevis-dracut

~]# dracut -f
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IMPORTANT
To use NBDE for clients with static IP configuration (without DHCP), pass your network
configuration to the dracut tool manually, for example:
~]# dracut -f --kernel-cmdline "ip=192.0.2.10

netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=192.0.2.1 nameserver=192.0.2.45"
Alternatively, create a .conf file in the /etc/dracut.conf.d/ directory with the static
network information. For example:
~]# cat /etc/dracut.conf.d/static_ip.conf

kernel_cmdline="ip= 10.0.0.103 netmask=255.255.252.0
gateway=10.0.0.1 nameserver=10.0.0.1"
Regenerate the initial RAM disk image:
~]# dracut -f
See the dracut.cmdline(7) man page for more information.
4.10.7. Configuring Automated Enrollment Using Kickstart

Clevis can integrate with Kickstart to provide a fully automated enrollment process.
1. Instruct Kickstart to partition the disk such that the root partition has enabled LUKS encryption
with a temporary password. The password is temporary for the enrollment process.
part /boot --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=vda --size=256

part / --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=vda --grow --encrypted --
passphrase=temppass
2. Install the related Clevis packages by listing them in the %packages section:
%packages
clevis-dracut
%end
3. Call clevis luks bind to perform binding in the %post section. Afterward, remove the
temporary password:
%post
clevis luks bind -f -k- -d /dev/vda2 \
tang '{"url":"http://tang.srv","thp":"_OsIk0T-E2l6qjfdDiwVmidoZjA"}'
\ <<< "temppass"
cryptsetup luksRemoveKey /dev/vda2 - <<< "temppass"
%end
In the above example, note that we specify the thumbprint that we trust on the Tang server as
part of our binding configuration, enabling binding to be completely non-interactive.
You can use an analogous procedure when using a TPM 2.0 policy instead of a Tang server.
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For more information on Kickstart installations, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide. For
information on Linux Unified Key Setup-on-disk-format (LUKS), see Section 4.9.1, “Using LUKS Disk
Encryption”.
4.10.8. Configuring Automated Unlocking of Removable Storage Devices

To automatically unlock a LUKS-encrypted removable storage device, such as a USB drive, install the
clevis-udisks2 package:
~]# yum install clevis-udisks2
Reboot the system, and then perform the binding step using the clevis luks bind command as
described in Section 4.10.6, “Configuring Manual Enrollment of Root Volumes”, for example:
~]# clevis luks bind -d /dev/sdb1 tang '{"url":"http://tang.srv"}'
The LUKS-encrypted removable device can be now unlocked automatically in your GNOME desktop
session. The device bound to a Clevis policy can be also unlocked by the clevis luks unlock
command:
~]# clevis luks unlock -d /dev/sdb1
You can use an analogous procedure when using a TPM 2.0 policy instead of a Tang server.
4.10.9. Configuring Automated Unlocking of Non-root Volumes at Boot Time

To use NBDE to also unlock LUKS-encrypted non-root volumes, perform the following steps:
1. Install the clevis-systemd package:
~]# yum install clevis-systemd
2. Enable the Clevis unlocker service:
~]# systemctl enable clevis-luks-askpass.path

Created symlink from /etc/systemd/system/remote-
fs.target.wants/clevis-luks-askpass.path to
/usr/lib/systemd/system/clevis-luks-askpass.path.
3. Perform the binding step using the clevis luks bind command as described in
Section 4.10.6, “Configuring Manual Enrollment of Root Volumes”.
4. To set up the encrypted block device during system boot, add the corresponding line with the
_netdev option to the /etc/crypttab configuration file. See the crypttab(5) man page for
more information.
5. Add the volume to the list of accessible filesystems in the /etc/fstab file. Use the _netdev
option in this configuration file, too. See the fstab(5) man page for more information.
4.10.10. Deploying Virtual Machines in a NBDE Network
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The clevis luks bind command does not change the LUKS master key. This implies that if you
create a LUKS-encrypted image for use in a virtual machine or cloud environment, all the instances that
run this image will share a master key. This is extremely insecure and should be avoided at all times.
This is not a limitation of Clevis but a design principle of LUKS. If you wish to have encrypted root
volumes in a cloud, you need to make sure that you perform the installation process (usually using
Kickstart) for each instance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux in a cloud as well. The images cannot be shared
without also sharing a LUKS master key.
If you intend to deploy automated unlocking in a virtualized environment, Red Hat strongly recommends
that you use systems such as lorax or virt-install together with a Kickstart file (see Section 4.10.7,
“Configuring Automated Enrollment Using Kickstart”) or another automated provisioning tool to ensure
that each encrypted VM has a unique master key.
4.10.11. Building Automatically-enrollable VM Images for Cloud Environments

using NBDE
Deploying automatically-enrollable encrypted images in a cloud environment can provide a unique set of
challenges. Like other virtualization environments detailed above, images should be instantiated at most
once to avoid sharing the LUKS master key. Therefore, automated deployment systems systems such
as lorax or virt-install together with a Kickstart file should be used to ensure master key uniqueness
during the image building process.
Cloud environments enable two Tang server deployment options which we consider here. First, the Tang
server can be deployed within the cloud environment itself. Second, the Tang server can be deployed
outside of the cloud on independent infrastructure with a VPN link between the two infrastructures.
Deploying Tang natively in the cloud does allow for easy deployment. However, given that it shares
infrastructure with the data persistence layer of ciphertext of other systems, it may be possible for both
the Tang server’s private key and the Clevis metadata to be stored on the same physical disk. Access to
this physical disk permits a full compromise of the ciphertext data.
IMPORTANT
For this reason, Red Hat strongly recommends maintaining a physical separation between
the location where the data is stored and the system where Tang is running. This
separation between the cloud and the Tang server ensures that the Tang server’s private
key cannot be accidentally combined with the Clevis metadata. It also provides local
control of the Tang server if the cloud infrastructure is at risk.

For more information, see the following man pages:
tang(8)
clevis(1)
jose(1)
clevis-luks-unlockers(1)
tang-nagios(1)
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4.11. CHECKING INTEGRITY WITH AIDE

Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment (AIDE) is a utility that creates a database of files on the
system, and then uses that database to ensure file integrity and detect system intrusions.
4.11.1. Installing AIDE

To install the aide package, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install aide
To generate an initial database, enter the following command as root:
~]# aide --init
AIDE, version 0.15.1
### AIDE database at /var/lib/aide/aide.db.new.gz initialized.
NOTE
In the default configuration, the aide --init command checks just a set of directories
and files defined in the /etc/aide.conf file. To include additional directories or files in
the AIDE database, and to change their watched parameters, edit /etc/aide.conf
accordingly.
To start using the database, remove the .new substring from the initial database file name:
~]# mv /var/lib/aide/aide.db.new.gz /var/lib/aide/aide.db.gz
To change the location of the AIDE database, edit the /etc/aide.conf file and modify the DBDIR
value. For additional security, store the database, configuration, and the /usr/sbin/aide binary file in
a secure location such as a read-only media.
IMPORTANT
To avoid SELinux denials after the AIDE database location change, update your SELinux
policy accordingly. See the SELinux User's and Administrator's Guide for more
information.
4.11.2. Performing Integrity Checks

To initiate a manual check, enter the following command as root:
~]# aide --check

AIDE 0.15.1 found differences between database and filesystem!!
Start timestamp: 2017-03-30 14:12:56
Summary:
Total number of files: 147173
Added files: 1
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Removed files: 0
Changed files: 2
...
At a minimum, AIDE should be configured to run a weekly scan. At most, AIDE should be run daily. For
example, to schedule a daily execution of AIDE at 4:05 am using cron (see the Automating System
Tasks chapter in the System Administrator's Guide), add the following line to /etc/crontab:
05 4 * * * root /usr/sbin/aide --check
4.11.3. Updating an AIDE Database

After the changes of your system such as package updates or configuration files adjustments are
verified, update your baseline AIDE database:
~]# aide --update
The aide --update command creates the /var/lib/aide/aide.db.new.gz database file. To

start using it for integrity checks, remove the .new substring from the file name.

For additional information on AIDE, see the following documentation:
aide(1) man page
aide.conf(5) man page
Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (OpenSCAP Security Guide):
Verify Integrity with AIDE
The AIDE manual
4.12. USING USBGUARD

The USBGuard software framework provides system protection against intrusive USB devices by
implementing basic whitelisting and blacklisting capabilities based on device attributes. To enforce a
user-defined policy, USBGuard uses the Linux kernel USB device authorization feature. The USBGuard
framework provides the following components:
The daemon component with an inter-process communication (IPC) interface for dynamic
interaction and policy enforcement.
The command-line interface to interact with a running USBGuard instance.
The rule language for writing USB device authorization policies.
The C++ API for interacting with the daemon component implemented in a shared library.
4.12.1. Installing USBGuard

To install the usbguard package, enter the following command as root:
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~]# yum install usbguard
To create the initial rule set, enter the following command as root:
~]# usbguard generate-policy > /etc/usbguard/rules.conf
NOTE
To customize the USBGuard rule set, edit the /etc/usbguard/rules.conf file. See
the usbguard-rules.conf(5) man page for more information. Additionally, see
Section 4.12.3, “Using the Rule Language to Create Your Own Policy” for examples.
To start the USBGuard daemon, enter the following command as root:
~]# systemctl start usbguard.service

~]# systemctl status usbguard
● usbguard.service - USBGuard daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/usbguard.service; disabled;
vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2017-06-06 13:29:31 CEST; 9s ago
Docs: man:usbguard-daemon(8)
Main PID: 4984 (usbguard-daemon)
CGroup: /system.slice/usbguard.service
└─4984 /usr/sbin/usbguard-daemon -k -c /etc/usbguard/usbguard-
daem...
To ensure USBGuard starts automatically at system start, use the following command as root:
~]# systemctl enable usbguard.service

Created symlink from
/etc/systemd/system/basic.target.wants/usbguard.service to
/usr/lib/systemd/system/usbguard.service.
To list all USB devices recognized by USBGuard, enter the following command as root:
~]# usbguard list-devices

1: allow id 1d6b:0002 serial "0000:00:06.7" name "EHCI Host Controller"
hash "JDOb0BiktYs2ct3mSQKopnOOV2h9MGYADwhT+oUtF2s=" parent-hash
"4PHGcaDKWtPjKDwYpIRG722cB9SlGz9l9Iea93+Gt9c=" via-port "usb1" with-
interface 09:00:00
...
6: block id 1b1c:1ab1 serial "000024937962" name "Voyager" hash
"CrXgiaWIf2bZAU+5WkzOE7y0rdSO82XMzubn7HDb95Q=" parent-hash
"JDOb0BiktYs2ct3mSQKopnOOV2h9MGYADwhT+oUtF2s=" via-port "1-3" with-
interface 08:06:50
To authorize a device to interact with the system, use the allow-device option:
~]# usbguard allow-device 6
To deauthorize and remove a device from the system, use the reject-device option. To just
deauthorize a device, use the usbguard command with the block-device option:
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~]# usbguard block-device 6
USBGuard uses the block and reject terms with the following meaning:
block - do not talk to this device for now
reject - ignore this device as if did not exist
To see all options of the usbguard command, enter it with the --help directive:
~]$ usbguard --help
4.12.2. Creating a White List and a Black List

The usbguard-daemon.conf file is loaded by the usbguard daemon after it parses its command-line
options and is used to configure runtime parameters of the daemon. To override the default configuration
file (/etc/usbguard/usbguard-daemon.conf), use the -c command-line option. See the
usbguard-daemon(8) man page for further details.
To create a white list or a black list, edit the usbguard-daemon.conf file and use the following
options:
USBGuard configuration file
RuleFile=<path>
The usbguard daemon use this file to load the policy rule set from it and to write new rules received
through the IPC interface.
IPCAllowedUsers=<username> [<username> ...]

A space-delimited list of user names that the daemon will accept IPC connections from.
IPCAllowedGroups=<groupname> [<groupname> ...]

A space-delimited list of group names that the daemon will accept IPC connections from.
IPCAccessControlFiles=<path>
Path to a directory holding the IPC access control files.
ImplicitPolicyTarget=<target>
How to treat devices that do not match any rule in the policy. Accepted values: allow, block, reject.
PresentDevicePolicy=<policy>
How to treat devices that are already connected when the daemon starts:
allow - authorize every present device
block - deauthorize every present device
reject - remove every present device
keep - just sync the internal state and leave it
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apply-policy - evaluate the ruleset for every present device
PresentControllerPolicy=<policy>
How to treat USB controllers that are already connected when the daemon starts:
allow - authorize every present device
block - deauthorize every present device
reject - remove every present device
keep - just sync the internal state and leave it
apply-policy - evaluate the ruleset for every present device
Example 4.5. USBGuard configuration
The following configuration file orders the usbguard daemon to load rules from the
/etc/usbguard/rules.conf file and it allows only users from the usbguard group to use the
IPC interface:
RuleFile=/etc/usbguard/rules.conf
IPCAccessControlFiles=/etc/usbguard/IPCAccessControl.d/
To specify the IPC Access Control List (ACL), use the usbguard add-user or usbguard
remove-user commands. See the usbguard(1) for more details. In this example, to allow users
from the usbguard group to modify USB device authorization state, list USB devices, listen to
exception events, and list USB authorization policy, enter the following command as root:
~]# usbguard add-user -g usbguard --devices=modify,list,listen --

policy=list --exceptions=listen
IMPORTANT
The daemon provides the USBGuard public IPC interface. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux,
the access to this interface is by default limited to the root user only. Consider setting
either the IPCAccessControlFiles option (recommended) or the IPCAllowedUsers
and IPCAllowedGroups options to limit access to the IPC interface. Do not leave the
ACL unconfigured as this exposes the IPC interface to all local users and it allows them to
manipulate the authorization state of USB devices and modify the USBGuard policy.
For more information, see the IPC Access Control section in the usbguard-daemon.conf(5) man
page.
4.12.3. Using the Rule Language to Create Your Own Policy

The usbguard daemon decides whether to authorize a USB device based on a policy defined by a set
of rules. When a USB device is inserted into the system, the daemon scans the existing rules
sequentially and when a matching rule is found, it either authorizes (allows), deauthorizes (blocks) or
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removes (rejects) the device, based on the rule target. If no matching rule is found, the decision is based
on an implicit default target. This implicit default is to block the device until a decision is made by the
user.
The rule language grammar is the following:
rule ::= target device_id device_attributes conditions.
target ::= "allow" | "block" | "reject".
device_id ::= "*:*" | vendor_id ":*" | vendor_id ":" product_id.
device_attributes ::= device_attributes | attribute.

device_attributes ::= .
conditions ::= conditions | condition.

conditions ::= .
For more details about the rule language such as targets, device specification, or device attributes, see
the usbguard-rules.conf(5) man page.
Example 4.6. USBguard example policies
Allow USB mass storage devices and block everything else

This policy blocks any device that is not just a mass storage device. Devices with a hidden
keyboard interface in a USB flash disk are blocked. Only devices with a single mass storage
interface are allowed to interact with the operating system. The policy consists of a single rule:
allow with-interface equals { 08:*:* }
The blocking is implicit because there is no block rule. Implicit blocking is useful to desktop users
because a desktop applet listening to USBGuard events can ask the user for a decision if an
implicit target was selected for a device.
Allow a specific Yubikey device to be connected through a specific port

Reject everything else on that port.
allow 1050:0011 name "Yubico Yubikey II" serial "0001234567" via-port

"1-2" hash "044b5e168d40ee0245478416caf3d998"
reject via-port "1-2"
Reject devices with suspicious combination of interfaces

A USB flash disk which implements a keyboard or a network interface is very suspicious. The
following set of rules forms a policy which allows USB flash disks and explicitly rejects devices
with an additional and suspicious interface.
allow with-interface equals { 08:*:* }

reject with-interface all-of { 08:*:* 03:00:* }
reject with-interface all-of { 08:*:* 03:01:* }
reject with-interface all-of { 08:*:* e0:*:* }
reject with-interface all-of { 08:*:* 02:*:* }
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NOTE
Blacklisting is the wrong approach and you should not just blacklist a set of devices
and allow the rest. The policy above assumes that blocking is the implicit default.
Rejecting a set of devices considered as "bad" is a good approach how to limit the
exposure of the system to such devices as much as possible.
Allow a keyboard-only USB device

The following rule allows a keyboard-only USB device only if there is not a USB device with a
keyboard interface already allowed.
allow with-interface one-of { 03:00:01 03:01:01 } if !allowed-

matches(with-interface one-of { 03:00:01 03:01:01 })
After an initial policy generation using the usbguard generate-policy command, edit the
/etc/usbguard/rules.conf to customize the USBGuard policy rules.
~]$ usbguard generate-policy > rules.conf

~]$ vim rules.conf
To install the updated policy and make your changes effective, use the following commands:
~]# install -m 0600 -o root -g root rules.conf /etc/usbguard/rules.conf

For additional information on USBGuard, see the following documentation:
usbguard(1) man page
usbguard-rules.conf(5) man page
usbguard-daemon(8) man page
usbguard-daemon.conf(5) man page
The USBGuard homepage
4.13. HARDENING TLS CONFIGURATION

TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a cryptographic protocol used to secure network
communications. When hardening system security settings by configuring preferred key-exchange
protocols, authentication methods, and encryption algorithms, it is necessary to bear in mind that the
broader the range of supported clients, the lower the resulting security. Conversely, strict security
settings lead to a limited compatibility with clients, which can result in some users being locked out of the
system. Be sure to target the strictest available configuration and only relax it when it is required for
compatibility reasons.
Note that the default settings provided by libraries included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are secure
enough for most deployments. The TLS implementations use secure algorithms where possible while not
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preventing connections from or to legacy clients or servers. Apply the hardened settings described in this
section in environments with strict security requirements where legacy clients or servers that do not
support secure algorithms or protocols are not expected or allowed to connect.
4.13.1. Choosing Algorithms to Enable

There are several components that need to be selected and configured. Each of the following directly
influences the robustness of the resulting configuration (and, consequently, the level of support in
clients) or the computational demands that the solution has on the system.
Protocol Versions
The latest version of TLS provides the best security mechanism. Unless you have a compelling reason
to include support for older versions of TLS (or even SSL), allow your systems to negotiate connections
using only the latest version of TLS.
Do not allow negotiation using SSL version 2 or 3. Both of those versions have serious security
vulnerabilities. Only allow negotiation using TLS version 1.0 or higher. The current version of TLS, 1.2,
should always be preferred.
NOTE
Please note that currently, the security of all versions of TLS depends on the use of TLS
extensions, specific ciphers (see below), and other workarounds. All TLS connection
peers need to implement secure renegotiation indication (RFC 5746), must not support
compression, and must implement mitigating measures for timing attacks against CBC-
mode ciphers (the Lucky Thirteen attack). TLS 1.0 clients need to additionally implement
record splitting (a workaround against the BEAST attack). TLS 1.2 supports
Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD) mode ciphers like AES-GCM,
AES-CCM, or Camellia-GCM, which have no known issues. All the mentioned mitigations
are implemented in cryptographic libraries included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
See Table 4.6, “Protocol Versions” for a quick overview of protocol versions and recommended usage.
Table 4.6. Protocol Versions
Protocol Usage Recommendation

Version
SSL v2 Do not use. Has serious security vulnerabilities.
SSL v3 Do not use. Has serious security vulnerabilities.
TLS 1.0 Use for interoperability purposes where needed. Has known issues that cannot be
mitigated in a way that guarantees interoperability, and thus mitigations are not enabled by
default. Does not support modern cipher suites.
TLS 1.1 Use for interoperability purposes where needed. Has no known issues but relies on
protocol fixes that are included in all the TLS implementations in Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Does not support modern cipher suites.
TLS 1.2 Recommended version. Supports the modern AEAD cipher suites.
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Some components in Red Hat Enterprise Linux are configured to use TLS 1.0 even though they
provide support for TLS 1.1 or even 1.2. This is motivated by an attempt to achieve the highest level
of interoperability with external services that may not support the latest versions of TLS. Depending on
your interoperability requirements, enable the highest available version of TLS.
IMPORTANT
SSL v3 is not recommended for use. However, if, despite the fact that it is considered
insecure and unsuitable for general use, you absolutely must leave SSL v3 enabled, see
Section 4.8, “Using stunnel” for instructions on how to use stunnel to securely encrypt
communications even when using services that do not support encryption or are only
capable of using obsolete and insecure modes of encryption.
Cipher Suites
Modern, more secure cipher suites should be preferred to old, insecure ones. Always disable the use of
eNULL and aNULL cipher suites, which do not offer any encryption or authentication at all. If at all
possible, ciphers suites based on RC4 or HMAC-MD5, which have serious shortcomings, should also be
disabled. The same applies to the so-called export cipher suites, which have been intentionally made
weaker, and thus are easy to break.
While not immediately insecure, cipher suites that offer less than 128 bits of security should not be
considered for their short useful life. Algorithms that use 128 bit of security or more can be expected to
be unbreakable for at least several years, and are thus strongly recommended. Note that while 3DES
ciphers advertise the use of 168 bits, they actually offer 112 bits of security.
Always give preference to cipher suites that support (perfect) forward secrecy (PFS), which ensures the
confidentiality of encrypted data even in case the server key is compromised. This rules out the fast RSA
key exchange, but allows for the use of ECDHE and DHE. Of the two, ECDHE is the faster and therefore
the preferred choice.
You should also give preference to AEAD ciphers, such as AES-GCM, before CBC-mode ciphers as they
are not vulnerable to padding oracle attacks. Additionally, in many cases, AES-GCM is faster than AES in
CBC mode, especially when the hardware has cryptographic accelerators for AES.
Note also that when using the ECDHE key exchange with ECDSA certificates, the transaction is even
faster than pure RSA key exchange. To provide support for legacy clients, you can install two pairs of
certificates and keys on a server: one with ECDSA keys (for new clients) and one with RSA keys (for
legacy ones).
Public Key Length

When using RSA keys, always prefer key lengths of at least 3072 bits signed by at least SHA-256, which
is sufficiently large for true 128 bits of security.

WARNING
Keep in mind that the security of your system is only as strong as the weakest link in
the chain. For example, a strong cipher alone does not guarantee good security.
The keys and the certificates are just as important, as well as the hash functions
and keys used by the Certification Authority (CA) to sign your keys.
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4.13.2. Using Implementations of TLS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is distributed with several full-featured implementations of TLS. In this
section, the configuration of OpenSSL and GnuTLS is described. See Section 4.13.3, “Configuring
Specific Applications” for instructions on how to configure TLS support in individual applications.
The available TLS implementations offer support for various cipher suites that define all the elements
that come together when establishing and using TLS-secured communications.
Use the tools included with the different implementations to list and specify cipher suites that provide the
best possible security for your use case while considering the recommendations outlined in
Section 4.13.1, “Choosing Algorithms to Enable”. The resulting cipher suites can then be used to
configure the way individual applications negotiate and secure connections.
IMPORTANT
Be sure to check your settings following every update or upgrade of the TLS
implementation you use or the applications that utilize that implementation. New versions
may introduce new cipher suites that you do not want to have enabled and that your
current configuration does not disable.
4.13.2.1. Working with Cipher Suites in OpenSSL
OpenSSL is a toolkit and a cryptography library that support the SSL and TLS protocols. On Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7, a configuration file is provided at /etc/pki/tls/openssl.cnf. The format of this
configuration file is described in config(1). See also Section 4.7.9, “Configuring OpenSSL”.
To get a list of all cipher suites supported by your installation of OpenSSL, use the openssl command
with the ciphers subcommand as follows:
~]$ openssl ciphers -v 'ALL:COMPLEMENTOFALL'
Pass other parameters (referred to as cipher strings and keywords in OpenSSL documentation) to the
ciphers subcommand to narrow the output. Special keywords can be used to only list suites that satisfy
a certain condition. For example, to only list suites that are defined as belonging to the HIGH group, use
~]$ openssl ciphers -v 'HIGH'
See the ciphers(1) manual page for a list of available keywords and cipher strings.
To obtain a list of cipher suites that satisfy the recommendations outlined in Section 4.13.1, “Choosing
Algorithms to Enable”, use a command similar to the following:
~]$ openssl ciphers -v 'kEECDH+aECDSA+AES:kEECDH+AES+aRSA:kEDH+aRSA+AES' |

column -t
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AESGCM(256)
Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA384
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AESGCM(128)
Mac=AEAD
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ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(128)

Mac=SHA256
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(128)
Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AESGCM(256)
Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA384
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AESGCM(128)
Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AES(128)
Mac=SHA256
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH Au=RSA Enc=AES(128)
Mac=SHA1
DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AESGCM(256)
Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA256
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AES(256)
Mac=SHA1
DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AESGCM(128)
Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AES(128)
Mac=SHA256
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH Au=RSA Enc=AES(128)
Mac=SHA1
The above command omits all insecure ciphers, gives preference to ephemeral elliptic curve
Diffie-Hellman key exchange and ECDSA ciphers, and omits RSA key exchange (thus ensuring
perfect forward secrecy).
Note that this is a rather strict configuration, and it might be necessary to relax the conditions in real-
world scenarios to allow for a compatibility with a broader range of clients.
4.13.2.2. Working with Cipher Suites in GnuTLS
GnuTLS is a communications library that implements the SSL and TLS protocols and related
technologies.
NOTE
The GnuTLS installation on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 offers optimal default
configuration values that provide sufficient security for the majority of use cases. Unless
you need to satisfy special security requirements, it is recommended to use the supplied
defaults.
Use the gnutls-cli command with the -l (or --list) option to list all supported cipher suites:
~]$ gnutls-cli -l
To narrow the list of cipher suites displayed by the -l option, pass one or more parameters (referred to
as priority strings and keywords in GnuTLS documentation) to the --priority option. See the
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GnuTLS documentation at http://www.gnutls.org/manual/gnutls.html#Priority-Strings for a list of all

available priority strings. For example, issue the following command to get a list of cipher suites that offer
at least 128 bits of security:
~]$ gnutls-cli --priority SECURE128 -l
To obtain a list of cipher suites that satisfy the recommendations outlined in Section 4.13.1, “Choosing
Algorithms to Enable”, use a command similar to the following:
~]$ gnutls-cli --priority SECURE256:+SECURE128:-VERS-TLS-ALL:+VERS-

TLS1.2:-RSA:-DHE-DSS:-CAMELLIA-128-CBC:-CAMELLIA-256-CBC -l
Cipher suites for SECURE256:+SECURE128:-VERS-TLS-ALL:+VERS-TLS1.2:-RSA:-
DHE-DSS:-CAMELLIA-128-CBC:-CAMELLIA-256-CBC
TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 0xc0, 0x2c
TLS1.2
TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 0xc0, 0x24
TLS1.2
TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1 0xc0, 0x0a
SSL3.0
TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 0xc0, 0x2b
TLS1.2
TLS1.2
SSL3.0
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 0xc0, 0x30
TLS1.2
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1 0xc0, 0x14
SSL3.0
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 0xc0, 0x2f
TLS1.2
TLS1.2
SSL3.0
TLS_DHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA256 0x00, 0x6b
TLS1.2
TLS_DHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1 0x00, 0x39
SSL3.0
TLS_DHE_RSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 0x00, 0x9e
TLS1.2
TLS1.2
SSL3.0
Certificate types: CTYPE-X.509

Protocols: VERS-TLS1.2
Compression: COMP-NULL
Elliptic curves: CURVE-SECP384R1, CURVE-SECP521R1, CURVE-SECP256R1
PK-signatures: SIGN-RSA-SHA384, SIGN-ECDSA-SHA384, SIGN-RSA-SHA512, SIGN-
ECDSA-SHA512, SIGN-RSA-SHA256, SIGN-DSA-SHA256, SIGN-ECDSA-SHA256
The above command limits the output to ciphers with at least 128 bits of security while giving preference
to the stronger ones. It also forbids RSA key exchange and DSS authentication.
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Note that this is a rather strict configuration, and it might be necessary to relax the conditions in real-
world scenarios to allow for a compatibility with a broader range of clients.
4.13.3. Configuring Specific Applications

Different applications provide their own configuration mechanisms for TLS. This section describes the
TLS-related configuration files employed by the most commonly used server applications and offers
examples of typical configurations.
Regardless of the configuration you choose to use, always make sure to mandate that your server
application enforces server-side cipher order, so that the cipher suite to be used is determined by the
order you configure.
4.13.3.1. Configuring the Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server can use both OpenSSL and NSS libraries for its TLS needs. Depending on
your choice of the TLS library, you need to install either the mod_ssl or the mod_nss module (provided
by eponymous packages). For example, to install the package that provides the OpenSSL mod_ssl
module, issue the following command as root:
~]# yum install mod_ssl
The mod_ssl package installs the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf configuration file, which can be
used to modify the TLS-related settings of the Apache HTTP Server. Similarly, the mod_nss package
installs the /etc/httpd/conf.d/nss.conf configuration file.
Install the httpd-manual package to obtain complete documentation for the Apache HTTP Server,
including TLS configuration. The directives available in the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf
configuration file are described in detail in /usr/share/httpd/manual/mod/mod_ssl.html.
Examples of various settings are in /usr/share/httpd/manual/ssl/ssl_howto.html.
When modifying the settings in the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf configuration file, be sure to

consider the following three directives at the minimum:
SSLProtocol
Use this directive to specify the version of TLS (or SSL) you want to allow.
SSLCipherSuite
Use this directive to specify your preferred cipher suite or disable the ones you want to disallow.
SSLHonorCipherOrder
Uncomment and set this directive to on to ensure that the connecting clients adhere to the order of
ciphers you specified.
For example:
SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3

SSLCipherSuite HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5
SSLHonorCipherOrder on
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Security Guide
Note that the above configuration is the bare minimum, and it can be hardened significantly by following
the recommendations outlined in Section 4.13.1, “Choosing Algorithms to Enable”.
To configure and use the mod_nss module, modify the /etc/httpd/conf.d/nss.conf configuration
file. The mod_nss module is derived from mod_ssl, and as such it shares many features with it, not
least the structure of the configuration file, and the directives that are available. Note that the mod_nss
directives have a prefix of NSS instead of SSL. See
https://git.fedorahosted.org/cgit/mod_nss.git/plain/docs/mod_nss.html for an overview of information
about mod_nss, including a list of mod_ssl configuration directives that are not applicable to mod_nss.
4.13.3.2. Configuring the Dovecot Mail Server
To configure your installation of the Dovecot mail server to use TLS, modify the
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf configuration file. You can find an explanation of some of the
basic configuration directives available in that file in /usr/share/doc/dovecot-
2.2.10/wiki/SSL.DovecotConfiguration.txt (this help file is installed along with the standard
installation of Dovecot).
When modifying the settings in the /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf configuration file, be sure

to consider the following three directives at the minimum:
ssl_protocols
Use this directive to specify the version of TLS (or SSL) you want to allow.
ssl_cipher_list
Use this directive to specify your preferred cipher suites or disable the ones you want to disallow.
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers
Uncomment and set this directive to yes to ensure that the connecting clients adhere to the order of
ciphers you specified.
For example:
ssl_protocols = !SSLv2 !SSLv3

ssl_cipher_list = HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers = yes
Note that the above configuration is the bare minimum, and it can be hardened significantly by following
the recommendations outlined in Section 4.13.1, “Choosing Algorithms to Enable”.
4.13.4. Additional Information

For more information about TLS configuration and related topics, see the resources listed below.
config(1) — Describes the format of the /etc/ssl/openssl.conf configuration file.
ciphers(1) — Includes a list of available OpenSSL keywords and cipher strings.
140
/usr/share/httpd/manual/mod/mod_ssl.html — Contains detailed descriptions of the

directives available in the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf configuration file used by the
mod_ssl module for the Apache HTTP Server.
/usr/share/httpd/manual/ssl/ssl_howto.html — Contains practical examples of real-

world settings in the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf configuration file used by the mod_ssl
module for the Apache HTTP Server.
/usr/share/doc/dovecot-2.2.10/wiki/SSL.DovecotConfiguration.txt —
Explains some of the basic configuration directives available in the
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf configuration file used by the Dovecot mail server.
and Administrator's Guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 describes the basic principles of
SELinux and documents in detail how to configure and use SELinux with various services, such
as the Apache HTTP Server.
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-uta-tls-bcp-00 — Recommendations for secure use of TLS and

DTLS.
See Also
Section A.2.4, “SSL/TLS” provides a concise description of the SSL and TLS protocols.
Section 4.7, “Using OpenSSL” describes, among other things, how to use OpenSSL to create
and manage keys, generate certificates, and encrypt and decrypt files.
4.14. USING SHARED SYSTEM CERTIFICATES

The Shared System Certificates storage allows NSS, GnuTLS, OpenSSL, and Java to share a default
source for retrieving system certificate anchors and black list information. By default, the trust store
contains the Mozilla CA list, including positive and negative trust. The system allows updating of the core
Mozilla CA list or choosing another certificate list.
4.14.1. Using a System-wide Trust Store

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, the consolidated system-wide trust store is located in the /etc/pki/ca-
trust/ and /usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/ directories. The trust settings in
/usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/ are processed with lower priority than settings in
/etc/pki/ca-trust/.
Certificate files are treated depending on the subdirectory they are installed to:
/usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/anchors/ or /etc/pki/ca-
trust/source/anchors/ - for trust anchors. See Section 4.5.6, “Understanding Trust
Anchors”.
/usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/blacklist/ or /etc/pki/ca-
trust/source/blacklist/ - for distrusted certificates.
/usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/ or /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/ - for certificates

in the extended BEGIN TRUSTED file format.
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4.14.2. Adding New Certificates

To add a certificate in the simple PEM or DER file formats to the list of CAs trusted on the system, copy
the certificate file to the /usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/anchors/ or /etc/pki/ca-
trust/source/anchors/ directory. To update the system-wide trust store configuration, use the
update-ca-trust command, for example:
# cp ~/certificate-trust-examples/Cert-trust-test-ca.pem
/usr/share/pki/ca-trust-source/anchors/
# update-ca-trust
NOTE
While the Firefox browser is able to use an added certificate without executing update-
ca-trust, it is recommended to run update-ca-trust after a CA change. Also note
that browsers, such as Firefox, Epiphany, or Chromium, cache files, and you might need
to clear the browser's cache or restart your browser to load the current system certificates
configuration.
4.14.3. Managing Trusted System Certificates

To list, extract, add, remove, or change trust anchors, use the trust command. To see the built-in help
for this command, enter it without any arguments or with the --help directive:
$ trust
usage: trust command <args>...
Common trust commands are:

list List trust or certificates
extract Extract certificates and trust
extract-compat Extract trust compatibility bundles
anchor Add, remove, change trust anchors
dump Dump trust objects in internal format
See 'trust <command> --help' for more information
To list all system trust anchors and certificates, use the trust list command:
$ trust list
pkcs11:id=%d2%87%b4%e3%df%37%27%93%55%f6%56%ea%81%e5%36%cc%8c%1e%3f%bd;typ
e=cert
type: certificate
label: ACCVRAIZ1
trust: anchor
category: authority
pkcs11:id=%a6%b3%e1%2b%2b%49%b6%d7%73%a1%aa%94%f5%01%e7%73%65%4c%ac%50;typ
e=cert
type: certificate
label: ACEDICOM Root
trust: anchor
category: authority
...
[output has been truncated]
142
All sub-commands of the trust commands offer a detailed built-in help, for example:
$ trust list --help

usage: trust list --filter=<what>
--filter=<what> filter of what to export

ca-anchors certificate anchors
blacklist blacklisted certificates
trust-policy anchors and blacklist (default)
certificates all certificates
pkcs11:object=xx a PKCS#11 URI
--purpose=<usage> limit to certificates usable for the purpose
server-auth for authenticating servers
client-auth for authenticating clients
email for email protection
code-signing for authenticating signed code
1.2.3.4.5... an arbitrary object id
-v, --verbose show verbose debug output
-q, --quiet suppress command output
To store a trust anchor into the system-wide trust store, use the trust anchor sub-command and
specify a path.to a certificate, for example:
# trust anchor path.to/certificate.crt
To remove a certificate, use either a path.to a certificate or an ID of a certificate:
# trust anchor --remove path.to/certificate.crt

# trust anchor --remove "pkcs11:id=%AA%BB%CC%DD%EE;type=cert"

For more information, see the following man pages:
update-ca-trust(8)
trust(1)
4.15. USING MACSEC

Media Access Control Security (MACsec, IEEE 802.1AE) encrypts and authenticates all traffic in
LANs with the GCM-AES-128 algorithm. MACsec can protect not only IP but also Address Resolution
Protocol (ARP), Neighbor Discovery (ND), or DHCP. While IPsec operates on the network layer (layer 3)
and SSL or TLS on the application layer (layer 7), MACsec operates in the data link layer (layer 2).
Combine MACsec with security protocols for other networking layers to take advantage of different
security features that these standards provide.
See the MACsec: a different solution to encrypt network traffic article for more information about the
architecture of a MACsec network, use case scenarios, and configuration examples.
For examples how to configure MACsec using wpa_supplicant and NetworkManager, see the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7 Networking Guide.
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4.16. REMOVING DATA SECURELY USING SCRUB

The scrub utility sets patterns on special files or disk devices to make retrieving data more difficult.
Using scrub is faster than writing random data on a disk. This process provides high availability,
reliability, and data protection.
To start using the scrub command, install the scrub package:
~]# yum install scrub
The scrub utility operates in one of the following basic modes:
Character or Block Device

The special file corresponding to a whole disk is scrubbed and all data on it, is destroyed. This is the
most effective method.
scrub [OPTIONS] special file
File
A regular file is scrubbed and only the data in the file is destroyed.
scrub [OPTIONS] file
Directory
With the -X option, a directory is created and filled with files until the file system is full. Then, the files
are scrubbed as in file mode.
scrub -X [OPTIONS] directory
Example 4.7. Scrubbing a Raw Device
To scrub a raw device /dev/sdf1 with default National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
patterns, enter the following command:
~]# scrub /dev/sdf1

scrub: using NNSA NAP-14.1-C patterns
scrub: please verify that device size below is correct!
scrub: scrubbing /dev/sdf1 1995650048 bytes (~1GB)
scrub: random |................................................|
scrub: random |................................................|
scrub: 0x00 |................................................|
scrub: verify |................................................|
Example 4.8. Scrubbing a File
1. Create a 1MB file:
~]$ base64 /dev/urandom | head -c $[ 1024*1024 ] > file.txt
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2. Show the file size:
~]$ ls -lh
total 1.0M
-rw-rw-r--. 1 username username 1.0M Sep 8 15:23 file.txt
3. Show the contents of the file:
~]$ head -1 file.txt

JnNpaTEveB/IYsbM9lhuJdw+0jKhwCIBUsxLXLAyB8uItotUlNHKKUeS/7bCRKDogE
P+yJm8VQkL
4. Scrub the file:
~]$ scrub file.txt

scrub: using NNSA NAP-14.1-C patterns
scrub: scrubbing file.txt 1048576 bytes (~1024KB)
scrub: random |................................................|
scrub: random |................................................|
scrub: 0x00 |................................................|
scrub: verify |................................................|
5. Verify that the file contents have been scrubbed:
~]$ cat file.txt

SCRUBBED!
6. Verify that the file size remains the same:
~]$ ls -lh
total 1.0M
-rw-rw-r--. 1 username username 1.0M Sep 8 15:24 file.txt
For more information on scrub modes, options, methods, and caveats, see the scrub(1) man page.
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CHAPTER 5. USING FIREWALLS
NOTE
To expand your expertise, you might also be interested in the Red Hat Server Hardening
(RH413) training course.
5.1. GETTING STARTED WITH FIREWALLD

A firewall is a way to protect machines from any unwanted traffic from outside. It enables users to control
incoming network traffic on host machines by defining a set of firewall rules. These rules are used to sort
the incoming traffic and either block it or allow through.
firewalld is a firewall service daemon that provides a dynamic customizable host-based firewall with a
D-Bus interface. Being dynamic, it enables creating, changing, and deleting the rules without the
necessity to restart the firewall daemon each time the rules are changed.
firewalld uses the concepts of zones and services, that simplify the traffic management. Zones are
predefined sets of rules. Network interfaces and sources can be assigned to a zone. The traffic allowed
depends on the network your computer is connected to and the security level this network is assigned.
Firewall services are predefined rules that cover all necessary settings to allow incoming traffic for a
specific service and they apply within a zone.
Services use one or more ports or addresses for network communication. Firewalls filter communication
based on ports. To allow network traffic for a service, its ports must be open. firewalld blocks all
traffic on ports that are not explicitly set as open. Some zones, such as trusted, allow all traffic by
default.
Figure 5.1. The Firewall Stack
5.1.1. Zones
⁠firewalld can be used to separate networks into different zones according to the level of trust that the
user has decided to place on the interfaces and traffic within that network. A connection can only be part
of one zone, but a zone can be used for many network connections.
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NetworkManager notifies firewalld of the zone of an interface. You can assign zones to interfaces
with NetworkManager, with the firewall-config tool, or the firewall-cmd command-line tool. The
latter two only edit the appropriate NetworkManager configuration files. If you change the zone of the
interface using firewall-cmd or firewall-config, the request is forwarded to NetworkManager and is
not handled by f ⁠ irewalld.
The predefined zones are stored in the /usr/lib/firewalld/zones/ directory and can be instantly
applied to any available network interface. These files are copied to the /etc/firewalld/zones/
directory only after they are modified. The following table describes the default settings of the predefined
zones:
block
Any incoming network connections are rejected with an icmp-host-prohibited message for IPv4 and
icmp6-adm-prohibited for IPv6. Only network connections initiated from within the system are
possible.
dmz
For computers in your demilitarized zone that are publicly-accessible with limited access to your
internal network. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.
drop
Any incoming network packets are dropped without any notification. Only outgoing network
connections are possible.
external
For use on external networks with masquerading enabled, especially for routers. You do not trust the
other computers on the network to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are
accepted.
home
For use at home when you mostly trust the other computers on the network. Only selected incoming
connections are accepted.
internal
For use on internal networks when you mostly trust the other computers on the network. Only
selected incoming connections are accepted.
public
For use in public areas where you do not trust other computers on the network. Only selected
incoming connections are accepted.
trusted
All network connections are accepted.
work
For use at work where you mostly trust the other computers on the network. Only selected incoming
connections are accepted.
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One of these zones is set as the default zone. When interface connections are added to
NetworkManager, they are assigned to the default zone. On installation, the default zone in firewalld
is set to be the public zone. The default zone can be changed.
NOTE
The network zone names have been chosen to be self-explanatory and to allow users to
quickly make a reasonable decision. To avoid any security problems, review the default
zone configuration and disable any unnecessary services according to your needs and
risk assessments.
5.1.2. Predefined Services

A service can be a list of local ports, protocols, source ports, and destinations, as well as a list of firewall
helper modules automatically loaded if a service is enabled. Using services saves users time because
they can achieve several tasks, such as opening ports, defining protocols, enabling packet forwarding
and more, in a single step, rather than setting up everything one after another.
Service configuration options and generic file information are described in the
firewalld.service(5) man page. The services are specified by means of individual XML
configuration files, which are named in the following format: service-name.xml. Protocol names are
preferred over service or application names in firewalld.
5.1.3. Runtime and Permanent Settings

Any changes committed in runtime mode only apply while firewalld is running. When firewalld is
restarted, the settings revert to their permanent values.
To make the changes persistent across reboots, apply them again using the --permanent option.
Alternatively, to make changes persistent while firewalld is running, use the --runtime-to-
permanent firewall-cmd option.
If you set the rules while firewalld is running using only the --permanent option, they do not
become effective before firewalld is restarted. However, restarting firewalld closes all open ports
and stops the networking traffic.
5.1.4. Modifying Settings in Runtime and Permanent Configuration using CLI

Using the CLI, you do not modify the firewall settings in both modes at the same time. You only modify
either runtime or permanent mode. To modify the firewall settings in the permanent mode, use the --
permanent option with the firewall-cmd command.
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent <other options>
Without this option, the command modifies runtime mode.
To change settings in both modes, you can use two methods:
1. Change runtime settings and then make them permanent as follows:
~]# firewall-cmd <other options>

~]# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
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2. Set permanent settings and reload the settings into runtime mode:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent <other options>

~]# firewall-cmd --reload
The first method allows you to test the settings before you apply them to the permanent mode.
NOTE
It is possible, especially on remote systems, that an incorrect setting results in a user

locking themselves out of a machine. To prevent such situations, use the --timeout
option. After a specified amount of time, any change reverts to its previous state. Using
this options excludes the --permanent option.
For example, to add the SSH service for 15 minutes:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --timeout 15m
5.2. INSTALLING THE FIREWALL-CONFIG GUI CONFIGURATION TOOL

To use the firewall-config GUI configuration tool, install the firewall-config package as root:
~]# yum install firewall-config
Alternatively, in GNOME, use the Super key and type Software to launch the Software Sources
application. Type firewall to the search box, which appears after selecting the search button in the
top-right corner. Select the Firewall item from the search results, and click on the Install button.
To run firewall-config, use either the firewall-config command or press the Super key to enter
the Activities Overview, type firewall, and press Enter.
5.3. VIEWING THE CURRENT STATUS AND SETTINGS OF FIREWALLD
5.3.1. Viewing the Current Status of firewalld
The firewall service, firewalld, is installed on the system by default. Use the firewalld CLI interface
to check that the service is running.
To see the status of the service:
~]# firewall-cmd --state
For more information about the service status, use the systemctl status sub-command:
~]# systemctl status firewalld

firewalld.service - firewalld - dynamic firewall daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/firewalld.service; enabled;
vendor pr
Active: active (running) since Mon 2017-12-18 16:05:15 CET; 50min ago
Docs: man:firewalld(1)
Main PID: 705 (firewalld)
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Tasks: 2 (limit: 4915)

CGroup: /system.slice/firewalld.service
└─705 /usr/bin/python3 -Es /usr/sbin/firewalld --nofork --nopid
Furthermore, it is important to know how firewalld is set up and which rules are in force before you try
to edit the settings. To display the firewall settings, see Section 5.3.2, “Viewing Current firewalld
Settings”
5.3.2. Viewing Current firewalld Settings
5.3.2.1. Viewing Allowed Services using GUI
To view the list of services using the graphical firewall-config tool, press the Super key to enter the
Activities Overview, type firewall, and press Enter. The firewall-config tool appears. You can now
view the list of services under the Services tab.
Alternatively, to start the graphical firewall configuration tool using the command-line, enter the following
command:
~]$ firewall-config
The Firewall Configuration window opens. Note that this command can be run as a normal user,
but you are prompted for an administrator password occasionally.
150
Figure 5.2. The Services tab in firewall-config
5.3.2.2. Viewing firewalld Settings using CLI
With the CLI client, it is possible to get different views of the current firewall settings. The --list-all
option shows a complete overview of the firewalld settings.
firewalld uses zones to manage the traffic. If a zone is not specified by the --zone option, the
command is effective in the default zone assigned to the active network interface and connection.
To list all the relevant information for the default zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-all

public
target: default
icmp-block-inversion: no
interfaces:
sources:
services: ssh dhcpv6-client
ports:
protocols:
masquerade: no
forward-ports:
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source-ports:
icmp-blocks:
rich rules:
NOTE
To specify the zone for which to display the settings, add the --zone=zone-name
argument to the firewall-cmd --list-all command, for example:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-all --zone=home

home
target: default
icmp-block-inversion: no
interfaces:
sources:
services: ssh mdns samba-client dhcpv6-client
... [output truncated]
To see the settings for particular information, such as services or ports, use a specific option. See the
firewalld manual pages or get a list of the options using the command help:
~]# firewall-cmd --help
Usage: firewall-cmd [OPTIONS...]
General Options
-h, --help Prints a short help text and exists
-V, --version Print the version string of firewalld
-q, --quiet Do not print status messages
Status Options
--state Return and print firewalld state
--reload Reload firewall and keep state information
... [output truncated]
For example, to see which services are allowed in the current zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-services

ssh dhcpv6-client
Listing the settings for a certain subpart using the CLI tool can sometimes be difficult to interpret. For
example, you allow the SSH service and firewalld opens the necessary port (22) for the service.
Later, if you list the allowed services, the list shows the SSH service, but if you list open ports, it does not
show any. Therefore, it is recommended to use the --list-all option to make sure you receive a
complete information.
5.4. STARTING FIREWALLD

To start firewalld, enter the following command as root:
~]# systemctl unmask firewalld

~]# systemctl start firewalld
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To ensure firewalld starts automatically at system start, enter the following command as root:
~]# systemctl enable firewalld
5.5. STOPPING FIREWALLD

To stop firewalld, enter the following command as root:
~]# systemctl stop firewalld
To prevent firewalld from starting automatically at system start, enter the following command as
root:
~]# systemctl disable firewalld
To make sure firewalld is not started by accessing the firewalld D-Bus interface and also if other
services require firewalld, enter the following command as root:
~]# systemctl mask firewalld
5.6. CONTROLLING TRAFFIC
5.6.1. Predefined Services

Services can be added and removed using the graphical firewall-config tool, firewall-cmd, and
firewall-offline-cmd.
Alternatively, you can edit the XML files in the /etc/firewalld/services/ directory. If a service is
not added or changed by the user, then no corresponding XML file is found in
/etc/firewalld/services/. The files in the /usr/lib/firewalld/services/ directory can be
used as templates if you want to add or change a service.
5.6.2. Disabling All Traffic in Case of Emergency using CLI

In an emergency situation, such as a system attack, it is possible to disable all network traffic and cut off
the attacker.
To immediately disable networking traffic, switch panic mode on:
~]# firewall-cmd --panic-on
Switching off panic mode reverts the firewall to its permanent settings. To switch panic mode off:
~]# firewall-cmd --panic-off
To see whether panic mode is switched on or off, use:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-panic
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5.6.3. Controlling Traffic with Predefined Services using CLI

The most straightforward method to control traffic is to add a predefined service to firewalld. This
opens all necessary ports and modifies other settings according to the service definition file.
1. Check that the service is not already allowed:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-services

ssh dhcpv6-client
2. List all predefined services:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-services

RH-Satellite-6 amanda-client amanda-k5-client bacula bacula-client
bitcoin bitcoin-rpc bitcoin-testnet bitcoin-testnet-rpc ceph ceph-
mon cfengine condor-collector ctdb dhcp dhcpv6 dhcpv6-client dns
docker-registry ...
[output truncated]
3. Add the service to the allowed services:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-service=<service-name>
4. Make the new settings persistent:
5.6.4. Controlling Traffic with Predefined Services using GUI

To enable or disable a predefined or custom service, start the firewall-config tool and select the network
zone whose services are to be configured. Select the Services tab and select the check box for each
type of service you want to trust. Clear the check box to block a service.
To edit a service, start the firewall-config tool and select Permanent from the menu labeled
Configuration. Additional icons and menu buttons appear at the bottom of the Services window.
Select the service you want to configure.
The Ports, Protocols, and Source Port tabs enable adding, changing, and removing of ports,
protocols, and source port for the selected service. The modules tab is for configuring Netfilter helper
modules. The Destination tab enables limiting traffic to a particular destination address and Internet
Protocol (IPv4 or IPv6).
NOTE
It is not possible to alter service settings in Runtime mode.
5.6.5. Adding New Services

Services can be added and removed using the graphical firewall-config tool, firewall-cmd, and
firewall-offline-cmd. Alternatively, you can edit the XML files in /etc/firewalld/services/.
If a service is not added or changed by the user, then no corresponding XML file are found in
154
/etc/firewalld/services/. The files /usr/lib/firewalld/services/ can be used as

templates if you want to add or change a service.
To add a new service in a terminal, use firewall-cmd, or firewall-offline-cmd in case of not

active firewalld. enter the following command to add a new and empty service:
~]$ firewall-cmd --new-service=service-name
To add a new service using a local file, use the following command:
~]$ firewall-cmd --new-service-from-file=service-name.xml
You can change the service name with the additional --name=service-name option.
As soon as service settings are changed, an updated copy of the service is placed into
/etc/firewalld/services/.
As root, you can enter the following command to copy a service manually:
~]# cp /usr/lib/firewalld/services/service-name.xml
/etc/firewalld/services/service-name.xml
firewalld loads files from /usr/lib/firewalld/services in the first place. If files are placed in
/etc/firewalld/services and they are valid, then these will override the matching files from
/usr/lib/firewalld/services. The overriden files in /usr/lib/firewalld/services are
used as soon as the matching files in /etc/firewalld/services have been removed or if
firewalld has been asked to load the defaults of the services. This applies to the permanent
environment only. A reload is needed to get these fallbacks also in the runtime environment.
5.6.6. Controlling Ports using CLI

Ports are logical devices that enable an operating system to receive and distinguish network traffic and
forward it accordingly to system services. These are usually represented by a daemon that listens on the
port, that is it waits for any traffic coming to this port.
Normally, system services listen on standard ports that are reserved for them. The httpd daemon, for
example, listens on port 80. However, system administrators by default configure daemons to listen on
different ports to enhance security or for other reasons.
Opening a Port
Through open ports, the system is accessible from the outside, which represents a security risk.
Generally, keep ports closed and only open them if they are required for certain services.
To get a list of open ports in the current zone:
1. List all allowed ports:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-ports
2. Add a port to the allowed ports to open it for incoming traffic:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-port=port-number/port-type
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The port types are either tcp, udp, sctp, or dccp. The type must match the type of network
communication.
Closing a Port
When an open port is no longer needed, close that port in firewalld. It is highly recommended to
close all unnecessary ports as soon as they are not used because leaving a port open represents a
security risk.
To close a port, remove it from the list of allowed ports:
1. List all allowed ports:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-ports

[WARNING]
====
This command will only give you a list of ports that have been
opened as ports. You will not be able to see any open ports that
have been opened as a service. Therefore, you should consider using
the --list-all option instead of --list-ports.
====
2. Remove the port from the allowed ports to close it for the incoming traffic:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-port=port-number/port-type
5.6.7. Opening Ports using GUI

To permit traffic through the firewall to a certain port, start the firewall-config tool and select the network
zone whose settings you want to change. Select the Ports tab and click the Add button on the right-
hand side. The Port and Protocol window opens.
Enter the port number or range of ports to permit. Select tcp or udp from the list.
5.6.8. Controlling Traffic with Protocols using GUI

To permit traffic through the firewall using a certain protocol, start the firewall-config tool and select the
network zone whose settings you want to change. Select the Protocols tab and click the Add button on
the right-hand side. The Protocol window opens.
Either select a protocol from the list or select the Other Protocol check box and enter the protocol in
the field.
5.6.9. Opening Source Ports using GUI
156
To permit traffic through the firewall from a certain port, start the firewall-config tool and select the
network zone whose settings you want to change. Select the Source Port tab and click the Add button
on the right-hand side. The Source Port window opens.
Enter the port number or range of ports to permit. Select tcp or udp from the list.
5.7. WORKING WITH ZONES

Zones represent a concept to manage incoming traffic more transparently. The zones are connected to
networking interfaces or assigned a range of source addresses. You manage firewall rules for each zone
independently, which enables you to define complex firewall settings and apply them to the traffic.
5.7.1. Listing Zones

To see which zones are available on your system:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-zones
The firewall-cmd --get-zones command displays all zones that are available on the system, but it
does not show any details for particular zones.
To see detailed information for all zones:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-all-zones
To see detailed information for a specific zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --list-all
5.7.2. Modifying firewalld Settings for a Certain Zone
The Section 5.6.3, “Controlling Traffic with Predefined Services using CLI” and Section 5.6.6, “Controlling
Ports using CLI” explain how to add services or modify ports in the scope of the current working zone.
Sometimes, it is required to set up rules in a different zone.
To work in a different zone, use the --zone=zone-name option. For example, to allow the SSH service
in the zone public:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --zone=public
5.7.3. Changing the Default Zone

System administrators assign a zone to a networking interface in its configuration files. If an interface is
not assigned to a specific zone, it is assigned to the default zone. After each restart of the firewalld
service, firewalld loads the settings for the default zone and makes it active.
To set up the default zone:
1. Display the current default zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-default-zone
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2. Set the new default zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --set-default-zone zone-name
NOTE
Following this procedure, the setting is a permanent setting, even without the --
permanent option.
5.7.4. Assigning a Network Interface to a Zone

It is possible to define different sets of rules for different zones and then change the settings quickly by
changing the zone for the interface that is being used. With multiple interfaces, a specific zone can be
set for each of them to distinguish traffic that is coming through them.
To assign the zone to a specific interface:
1. List the active zones and the interfaces assigned to them:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
2. Assign the interface to a different zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --change-interface=<interface-

name>
NOTE
You do not have to use the --permanent option to make the setting persistent across
restarts. If you set a new default zone, the setting becomes permanent.
5.7.5. Assigning a Default Zone to a Network Connection

When the connection is managed by NetworkManager, it must be aware of a zone that it uses. For
every network connection, a zone can be specified, which provides the flexibility of various firewall
settings according to the location of the computer with portable devices. Thus, zones and settings can be
specified for different locations, such as company or home.
To set a default zone for an Internet connection, use either the NetworkManager GUI or edit the
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-connection-name file and add a line that assigns a
zone to this connection:
ZONE=zone-name
5.7.6. Creating a New Zone

To use custom zones, create a new zone and use it just like a predefined zone. New zones require the -
-permanent option, otherwise the command does not work.
To create a new zone:
158
1. Create a new zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --new-zone=zone-name
2. Check if the new zone is added to your permanent settings:
5.7.7. Creating a New Zone using a Configuration File

Zones can also be created using a zone configuration file. This approach can be helpful when you need
to create a new zone, but want to reuse the settings from a different zone and only alter them a little.
A firewalld zone configuration file contains the information for a zone. These are the zone
description, services, ports, protocols, icmp-blocks, masquerade, forward-ports and rich language rules
in an XML file format. The file name has to be zone-name.xml where the length of zone-name is
currently limited to 17 chars. The zone configuration files are located in the
/usr/lib/firewalld/zones/ and /etc/firewalld/zones/ directories.
The following example shows a configuration that allows one service (SSH) and one port range, for both
the TCP and UDP protocols.:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<zone>
<short>My zone</short>
<description>Here you can describe the characteristic features of the
zone.</description>
<service name="ssh"/>
<port port="1025-65535" protocol="tcp"/>
<port port="1025-65535" protocol="udp"/>
</zone>
To change settings for that zone, add or remove sections to add ports, forward ports, services, and so
on. For more information, see the firewalld.zone manual pages.
5.7.8. Using Zone Targets to Set Default Behavior for Incoming Traffic
For every zone, you can set a default behavior that handles incoming traffic that is not further specified.
Such behaviour is defined by setting the target of the zone. There are three options - default, ACCEPT,
REJECT, and DROP. By setting the target to ACCEPT, you accept all incoming packets except those
disabled by a specific rule. If you set the target to REJECT or DROP, you disable all incoming packets
except those that you have allowed in specific rules. When packets are rejected, the source machine is
informed about the rejection, while there is no information sent when the packets are dropped.
To set a target for a zone:
1. List the information for the specific zone to see the default target:
~]$ firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --list-all
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2. Set a new target in the zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --set-target=

<default|ACCEPT|REJECT|DROP>
5.8. USING ZONES TO MANAGE INCOMING TRAFFIC DEPENDING ON

SOURCE
You can use zones to manage incoming traffic based on its source. That enables you to sort incoming
traffic and route it through different zones to allow or disallow services that can be reached by that traffic.
If you add a source to a zone, the zone becomes active and any incoming traffic from that source will be
directed through it. You can specify different settings for each zone, which is applied to the traffic from
the given sources accordingly. You can use more zones even if you only have one network interface.
5.8.1. Adding a Source

To route incoming traffic into a specific source, add the source to that zone. The source can be an IP
address or an IP mask in the Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR) notation.
1. To set the source in the current zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-source=<source>
2. To set the source IP address for a specific zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --add-source=<source>
The following procedure allows all incoming traffic from 192.168.2.15 in the trusted zone:
1. List all available zones:
2. Add the source IP to the trusted zone in the permanent mode:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --add-source=192.168.2.15
5.8.2. Removing a Source

Removing a source from the zone cuts off the traffic coming from it.
1. List allowed sources for the required zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --list-sources
160
2. Remove the source from the zone permanently:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --remove-source=<source>
5.8.3. Adding a Source Port

To enable sorting the traffic based on a port of origin, specify a source port using the --add-source-
port option. You can also combine this with the --add-source option to limit the traffic to a certain IP
address or IP range.
To add a source port:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --add-source-port=<port-

name>/<tcp|udp|sctp|dccp>
5.8.4. Removing a Source Port

By removing a source port you disable sorting the traffic based on a port of origin.
To remove a source port:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --remove-source-port=<port-

name>/<tcp|udp|sctp|dccp>
5.8.5. Using Zones and Sources to Allow a Service for Only a Specific Domain
To allow traffic from a specific network to use a service on a machine, use zones and source.
For example, to allow traffic from 192.168.1.0/24 to be able to reach the HTTP service while any other
traffic is blocked:
1. List all available zones:

block dmz drop external home internal public trusted work
2. Add the source to the trusted zone to route the traffic originating from the source through the
zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --add-source=192.168.1.0/24
3. Add the http service in the trusted zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=trusted -add-service=http
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5. Check that the trusted zone is active and that the service is allowed in it:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --list-all

trusted (active)
target: ACCEPT
sources: 192.168.1.0/24
services: http
5.8.6. Configuring Traffic Accepted by a Zone Based on Protocol

You can allow incoming traffic to be accepted by a zone based on the protocol. All traffic using the
specified protocol is accepted by a zone, in which you can apply further rules and filtering.
Adding a Protocol to a Zone

By adding a protocol to a certain zone, you allow all traffic with this protocol to be accepted by this zone.
To add a protocol to a zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --add-protocol=port-

name/tcp|udp|sctp|dccp|igmp
NOTE
To receive multicast traffic, use the igmp value with the --add-protocol option.
Removing a Protocol from a Zone

By removing a protocol from a certain zone, you stop accepting all traffic based on this protocol by the
zone.
To remove a protocol from a zone:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --remove-protocol=port-

name/tcp|udp|sctp|dccp|igmp
5.9. PORT FORWARDING

Using firewalld, you can set up ports redirection so that any incoming traffic that reaches a certain
port on your system is delivered to another internal port of your choice or to an external port on another
machine.
5.9.1. Adding a Port to Redirect

Before you redirect traffic from one port to another port, or another address, you need to know three
things: which port the packets arrive at, what protocol is used, and where you want to redirect them.
To redirect a port to another port:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-forward-port=port=port-

number:proto=tcp|udp|sctp|dccp:toport=port-number
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To redirect a port to another port at a different IP address:
1. Add the port to be forwarded:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-forward-port=port=port-

number:proto=tcp|udp:toport=port-number:toaddr=IP/mask
2. Enable masquerade:
~]# firewall-cmd -add-masquerade
Example 5.1. Redirecting TCP Port 80 to Port 88 on the Same Machine
To redirect the port:
1. Redirect the port 80 to port 88 for TCP traffic:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-forward-port=port=80:proto=tcp:toport=88
3. Check that the port is redirected:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-all
5.9.2. Removing a Redirected Port

To remove a redirected port:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-forward-port=port=port-number:proto=

<tcp|udp>:toport=port-number:toaddr=<IP/mask>
To remove a forwarded port redirected to a different address:
1. Remove the forwarded port:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-forward-port=port=port-number:proto=

<tcp|udp>:toport=port-number:toaddr=<IP/mask>
2. Disable masquerade:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-masquerade
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NOTE
Redirecting ports using this method only works for IPv4-based traffic. For IPv6 redirecting
setup, you need to use rich rules. For more information, see Section 5.15, “Configuring
Complex Firewall Rules with the "Rich Language" Syntax”.
To redirect to an external system, it is necessary to enable masquerading. For more

information, see Section 5.10, “Configuring IP Address Masquerading”.
Example 5.2. Removing TCP Port 80 forwarded to Port 88 on the Same Machine
To remove the port redirection:
1. List redirected ports:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-forward-ports

port=80:proto=tcp:toport=88:toaddr=
2. Remove the redirected port from the firewall::
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-forward-

port=port=80:proto=tcp:toport=88:toaddr=
5.10. CONFIGURING IP ADDRESS MASQUERADING

To check if IP masquerading is enabled (for example, for the external zone), enter the following
command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=external --query-masquerade
The command prints yes with exit status 0 if enabled. It prints no with exit status 1 otherwise. If zone is
omitted, the default zone will be used.
To enable IP masquerading, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=external --add-masquerade
To make this setting persistent, repeat the command adding the --permanent option.
To disable IP masquerading, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --zone=external --remove-masquerade
To make this setting persistent, repeat the command adding the --permanent option.
5.11. MANAGING ICMP REQUESTS
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The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a supporting protocol that is used by various
network devices to send error messages and operational information indicating a connection problem, for
example, that a requested service is not available. ICMP differs from transport protocols such as TCP
and UDP because it is not used to exchange data between systems.
Unfortunately, it is possible to use the ICMP messages, especially echo-request and echo-reply, to
reveal information about your network and misuse such information for various kinds of fraudulent
activities. Therefore, firewalld enables blocking the ICMP requests to protect your network
information.
5.11.1. Listing ICMP Requests
The ICMP requests are described in individual XML files that are located in the
/usr/lib/firewalld/icmptypes/ directory. You can read these files to see a description of the
request. The firewall-cmd command controls the ICMP requests manipulation.
To list all available ICMP types:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-icmptypes
The ICMP request can be used by IPv4, IPv6, or by both protocols. To see for which protocol the ICMP
request is used:
~]# firewall-cmd --info-icmptype=<icmptype>
The status of an ICMP request shows yes if the request is currently blocked or no if it is not. To see if an
ICMP request is currently blocked:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-icmp-block=<icmptype>
5.11.2. Blocking or Unblocking ICMP Requests
When your server blocks ICMP requests, it does not provide the information that it normally would.
However, that does not mean that no information is given at all. The clients receive information that the
particular ICMP request is being blocked (rejected). Blocking the ICMP requests should be considered
carefully, because it can cause communication problems, especially with IPv6 traffic.
To see if an ICMP request is currently blocked:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-icmp-block=<icmptype>
To block an ICMP request:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-icmp-block=<icmptype>
To remove the block for an ICMP request:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-icmp-block=<icmptype>
5.11.3. Blocking ICMP Requests without Providing any Information at All
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Normally, if you block ICMP requests, clients know that you are blocking it. So, a potential attacker who
is sniffing for live IP addresses is still able to see that your IP address is online. To hide this information
completely, you have to drop all ICMP requests.
To block and drop all ICMP requests:
1. Set the target of your zone to DROP:
~]# firewall-cmd --set-target=DROP
Now, all traffic, including ICMP requests, is dropped, except traffic which you have explicitly allowed.
To block and drop certain ICMP requests and allow others:
1. Set the target of your zone to DROP:
~]# firewall-cmd --set-target=DROP
2. Add the ICMP block inversion to block all ICMP requests at once:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-icmp-block-inversion
3. Add the ICMP block for those ICMP requests that you want to allow:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-icmp-block=<icmptype>
The block inversion inverts the setting of the ICMP requests blocks, so all requests, that were not
previously blocked, are blocked. Those that were blocked are not blocked. Which means that if you need
to unblock a request, you must use the blocking command.
To revert this to a fully permissive setting:
1. Set the target of your zone to default or ACCEPT:
~]# firewall-cmd --set-target=default
2. Remove all added blocks for ICMP requests:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-icmp-block=<icmptype>
3. Remove the ICMP block inversion:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-icmp-block-inversion
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5.11.4. Configuring the ICMP Filter using GUI
To enable or disable an ICMP filter, start the firewall-config tool and select the network zone whose
messages are to be filtered. Select the ICMP Filter tab and select the check box for each type of
ICMP message you want to filter. Clear the check box to disable a filter. This setting is per direction and
the default allows everything.
To edit an ICMP type, start the firewall-config tool and select Permanent mode from the menu labeled
Configuration. Additional icons appear at the bottom of the Services window. Select Yes in the
following dialog to enable masquerading and to make forwarding to another machine working.
To enable inverting the ICMP Filter, click the Invert Filter check box on the right. Only marked
ICMP types are now accepted, all other are rejected. In a zone using the DROP target, they are dropped.
5.12. SETTING AND CONTROLLING IP SETS USING FIREWALLD

To see the list of IP set types supported by firewalld, enter the following command as root.
~]# firewall-cmd --get-ipset-types

hash:ip hash:ip,mark hash:ip,port hash:ip,port,ip hash:ip,port,net
hash:mac hash:net hash:net,iface hash:net,net hash:net,port
hash:net,port,net
5.12.1. Configuring IP Set Options with the Command-Line Client

IP sets can be used in firewalld zones as sources and also as sources in rich rules. In Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7, the preferred method is to use the IP sets created with firewalld in a direct rule.
To list the IP sets known to firewalld in the permanent environment, use the following command as
root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --get-ipsets
To add a new IP set, use the following command using the permanent environment as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-ipset=test --type=hash:net

success
The previous command creates a new IP set with the name test and the hash:net type for IPv4. To
create an IP set for use with IPv6, add the --option=family=inet6 option. To make the new setting
effective in the runtime environment, reload firewalld. List the new IP set with the following command
as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --get-ipsets

test
To get more information about the IP set, use the following command as root:
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~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --info-ipset=test

test
type: hash:net
options:
entries:
Note that the IP set does not have any entries at the moment. To add an entry to the test IP set, use the
following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --add-entry=192.168.0.1

success
The previous command adds the IP address 192.168.0.1 to the IP set. To get the list of current entries in
the IP set, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --get-entries

192.168.0.1
Generate a file containing a list of IP addresses, for example:
~]# cat > iplist.txt <<EOL

192.168.0.2
192.168.0.3
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.254
EOL
The file with the list of IP addresses for an IP set should contain an entry per line. Lines starting with a
hash, a semi-colon, or empty lines are ignored.
To add the addresses from the iplist.txt file, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --add-entries-from-

file=iplist.txt
success
To see the extended entries list of the IP set, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --get-entries

192.168.0.1
192.168.0.2
192.168.0.3
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.254
To remove the addresses from the IP set and to check the updated entries list, use the following
commands as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --remove-entries-from-

file=iplist.txt
success
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=test --get-entries 192.168.0.1
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You can add the IP set as a source to a zone to handle all traffic coming in from any of the addresses
listed in the IP set with a zone. For example, to add the test IP set as a source to the drop zone to drop
all packets coming from all entries listed in the test IP set, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=drop --add-source=ipset:test

success
The ipset: prefix in the source shows firewalld that the source is an IP set and not an IP address or
an address range.
Only the creation and removal of IP sets is limited to the permanent environment, all other IP set options
can be used also in the runtime environment without the --permanent option.
5.12.2. Configuring a Custom Service for an IP Set

To configure a custom service to create and load the IP set structure before firewalld starts:
1. Using an editor running as root, create a file as follows:
~]# vi /etc/systemd/system/ipset_name.service
[Unit]
Description=ipset_name
Before=firewalld.service
[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/ipset_name.sh start
ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/ipset_name.sh stop
[Install]
WantedBy=basic.target
2. Use the IP set permanently in firewalld:
~]# vi /etc/firewalld/direct.xml
<direct>
<rule ipv="ipv4" table="filter" chain="INPUT" priority="0">-m set -
-match-set <replaceable>ipset_name</replaceable> src -j DROP</rule>
</direct>
3. A firewalld reload is required to activate the changes:
~]# firewall-cmd --reload
This reloads the firewall without losing state information (TCP sessions will not be terminated),
but service disruption is possible during the reload.
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
WARNING
Red Hat does not recommend using IP sets that are not managed through
firewalld. To use such IP sets, a permanent direct rule is required to reference
the set, and a custom service must be added to create these IP sets. This service
needs to be started before firewalld starts, otherwise firewalld is not able to add
the direct rules using these sets. You can add permanent direct rules with the
/etc/firewalld/direct.xml file.
5.13. SETTING AND CONTROLLING IP SETS USING IPTABLES

The essential differences between firewalld and the iptables (and ip6tables) services are:
The iptables service stores configuration in /etc/sysconfig/iptables and

/etc/sysconfig/ip6tables, while firewalld stores it in various XML files in
/usr/lib/firewalld/ and /etc/firewalld/. Note that the
/etc/sysconfig/iptables file does not exist as firewalld is installed by default on
Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
With the iptables service, every single change means flushing all the old rules and reading all
the new rules from /etc/sysconfig/iptables, while with firewalld there is no recreating
of all the rules. Only the differences are applied. Consequently, firewalld can change the
settings during runtime without existing connections being lost.
Both use iptables tool to talk to the kernel packet filter.
To use the iptables and ip6tables services instead of firewalld, first disable firewalld by
running the following command as root:
~]# systemctl disable firewalld

~]# systemctl stop firewalld
Then install the iptables-services package by entering the following command as root:
~]# yum install iptables-services
The iptables-services package contains the iptables service and the ip6tables service.
Then, to start the iptables and ip6tables services, enter the following commands as root:
~]# systemctl start iptables

~]# systemctl start ip6tables
To enable the services to start on every system start, enter the following commands:
~]# systemctl enable iptables

~]# systemctl enable ip6tables
The ipset utility is used to administer IP sets in the Linux kernel. An IP set is a framework for storing IP
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addresses, port numbers, IP and MAC address pairs, or IP address and port number pairs. The sets are
indexed in such a way that very fast matching can be made against a set even when the sets are very
large. IP sets enable simpler and more manageable configurations as well as providing performance
advantages when using iptables. The iptables matches and targets referring to sets create references
which protect the given sets in the kernel. A set cannot be destroyed while there is a single reference
pointing to it.
The use of ipset enables iptables commands, such as those below, to be replaced by a set:
~]# iptables -A INPUT -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j DROP

The set is created as follows:
~]# ipset create my-block-set hash:net

~]# ipset add my-block-set 10.0.0.0/8
The set is then referenced in an iptables command as follows:
~]# iptables -A INPUT -m set --set my-block-set src -j DROP
If the set is used more than once a saving in configuration time is made. If the set contains many entries
a saving in processing time is made.
5.14. USING THE DIRECT INTERFACE

It is possible to add and remove chains during runtime by using the --direct option with the firewall-
cmd tool. A few examples are presented here. See the firewall-cmd(1) man page for more
information.
It is dangerous to use the direct interface if you are not very familiar with iptables as you could
inadvertently cause a breach in the firewall.
The direct interface mode is intended for services or applications to add specific firewall rules during
runtime. The rules can be made permanent by adding the --permanent option using the firewall-
cmd --permanent --direct command or by modifying /etc/firewalld/direct.xml. See man
firewalld.direct(5) for information on the /etc/firewalld/direct.xml file.
5.14.1. Adding a Rule using the Direct Interface

To add a rule to the “IN_public_allow” chain, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter IN_public_allow \

0 -m tcp -p tcp --dport 666 -j ACCEPT
Add the --permanent option to make the setting persistent.
5.14.2. Removing a Rule using the Direct Interface

To remove a rule from the “IN_public_allow” chain, enter the following command as root:
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~]# firewall-cmd --direct --remove-rule ipv4 filter IN_public_allow \

0 -m tcp -p tcp --dport 666 -j ACCEPT
Add the --permanent option to make the setting persistent.
5.14.3. Listing Rules using the Direct Interface

To list the rules in the “IN_public_allow” chain, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --direct --get-rules ipv4 filter IN_public_allow
Note that this command (the --get-rules option) only lists rules previously added using the --add-
rule option. It does not list existing iptables rules added by other means.
5.15. CONFIGURING COMPLEX FIREWALL RULES WITH THE "RICH

LANGUAGE" SYNTAX
With the “rich language” syntax, complex firewall rules can be created in a way that is easier to
understand than the direct-interface method. In addition, the settings can be made permanent. The
language uses keywords with values and is an abstract representation of iptables rules. Zones can be
configured using this language; the current configuration method will still be supported.
5.15.1. Formatting of the Rich Language Commands

All the commands in this section need to be run as root. The format of the command to add a rule is as
follows:
firewall-cmd [--zone=zone] --add-rich-rule='rule' [--timeout=timeval]
This will add a rich language rule rule for zone zone. This option can be specified multiple times. If the
zone is omitted, the default zone is used. If a timeout is supplied, the rule or rules only stay active for the
amount of time specified and will be removed automatically afterwards. The time value can be followed
by s (seconds), m (minutes), or h (hours) to specify the unit of time. The default is seconds.
To remove a rule:
firewall-cmd [--zone=zone] --remove-rich-rule='rule'
This will remove a rich language rule rule for zone zone. This option can be specified multiple times. If
the zone is omitted, the default zone is used.
To check if a rule is present:
firewall-cmd [--zone=zone] --query-rich-rule='rule'
This will return whether a rich language rule rule has been added for the zone zone. The command prints
yes with exit status 0 if enabled. It prints no with exit status 1 otherwise. If the zone is omitted, the
default zone is used.
For information about the rich language representation used in the zone configuration files, see the
firewalld.zone(5) man page.
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5.15.2. Understanding the Rich Rule Structure

The format or structure of the rich rule commands is as follows:
rule [family="rule family"]

[ source [NOT] [address="address"] [mac="mac-address"] [ipset="ipset"]
]
[ destination [NOT] address="address" ]
[ element ]
[ log [prefix="prefix text"] [level="log level"] [limit
value="rate/duration"] ]
[ audit ]
[ action ]
NOTE
The structure of the rich rule in the file uses the NOT keyword to invert the sense of the
source and destination address commands, but the command line uses the
invert="true" option.
A rule is associated with a particular zone. A zone can have several rules. If some rules interact or
contradict, the first rule that matches the packet applies.
5.15.3. Understanding the Rich Rule Command Options

family
If the rule family is provided, either ipv4 or ipv6, it limits the rule to IPv4 or IPv6, respectively. If
the rule family is not provided, the rule is added for both IPv4 and IPv6. If source or destination
addresses are used in a rule, then the rule family needs to be provided. This is also the case for port
forwarding.
Source and Destination Addresses
source
By specifying the source address, the origin of a connection attempt can be limited to the source
address. A source address or address range is either an IP address or a network IP address with a
mask for IPv4 or IPv6. For IPv4, the mask can be a network mask or a plain number. For IPv6, the
mask is a plain number. The use of host names is not supported. It is possible to invert the sense of
the source address command by adding the NOT keyword; all but the supplied address matches.
A MAC address and also an IP set with type hash:mac can be added for IPv4 and IPv6 if no
family is specified for the rule. Other IP sets need to match thefamily setting of the rule.
destination
By specifying the destination address, the target can be limited to the destination address. The
destination address uses the same syntax as the source address for IP address or address ranges.
The use of source and destination addresses is optional, and the use of a destination addresses is
not possible with all elements. This depends on the use of destination addresses, for example, in
service entries. You can combine destination and action.
Elements
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The element can be only one of the following element types: service, port, protocol,
masquerade, icmp-block, forward-port, and source-port.
service
The service element is one of the firewalld provided services. To get a list of the predefined
services, enter the following command:
~]$ firewall-cmd --get-services
If a service provides a destination address, it will conflict with a destination address in the rule and will
result in an error. The services using destination addresses internally are mostly services using
multicast. The command takes the following form:
service name=service_name
port
The port element can either be a single port number or a port range, for example, 5060-5062,
followed by the protocol, either as tcp or udp. The command takes the following form:
port port=number_or_range protocol=protocol
protocol
The protocol value can be either a protocol ID number or a protocol name. For allowed protocol
entries, see /etc/protocols. The command takes the following form:
protocol value=protocol_name_or_ID
icmp-block
Use this command to block one or more ICMP types. The ICMP type is one of the ICMP types
firewalld supports. To get a listing of supported ICMP types, enter the following command:
~]$ firewall-cmd --get-icmptypes
Specifying an action is not allowed here. icmp-block uses the action reject internally. The
command takes the following form:
icmp-block name=icmptype_name
masquerade
Turns on IP masquerading in the rule. A source address can be provided to limit masquerading to this
area, but not a destination address. Specifying an action is not allowed here.
forward-port
Forward packets from a local port with protocol specified as tcp or udp to either another port locally,
to another machine, or to another port on another machine. The port and to-port can either be a
single port number or a port range. The destination address is a simple IP address. Specifying an
action is not allowed here. The forward-port command uses the action accept internally. The
command takes the following form:
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forward-port port=number_or_range protocol=protocol /

to-port=number_or_range to-addr=address
source-port
Matches the source port of the packet - the port that is used on the origin of a connection attempt. To
match a port on current machine, use the port element. The source-port element can either be a
single port number or a port range (for example, 5060-5062) followed by the protocol as tcp or udp.
The command takes the following form:
source-port port=number_or_range protocol=protocol
Logging
log
Log new connection attempts to the rule with kernel logging, for example, in syslog. You can define a
prefix text that will be added to the log message as a prefix. Log level can be one of emerg, alert,
crit, error, warning, notice, info, or debug. The use of log is optional. It is possible to limit
logging as follows:
log [prefix=prefix text] [level=log level] limit value=rate/duration
The rate is a natural positive number [1, ..], with the duration of s, m, h, d. s means seconds, m
means minutes, h means hours, and d days. The maximum limit value is 1/d, which means at
maximum one log entry per day.
audit
Audit provides an alternative way for logging using audit records sent to the service auditd. The
audit type can be one of ACCEPT, REJECT, or DROP, but it is not specified after the command audit
as the audit type will be automatically gathered from the rule action. Audit does not have its own
parameters, but limit can be added optionally. The use of audit is optional.
Action
accept|reject|drop|mark
An action can be one of accept, reject, drop, or mark. The rule can only contain an element or a
source. If the rule contains an element, then new connections matching the element will be handled
with the action. If the rule contains a source, then everything from the source address will be handled
with the action specified.
accept | reject [type=reject type] | drop | mark set="mark[/mask]"
With accept, all new connection attempts will be granted. With reject, they will be rejected and
their source will get a reject message. The reject type can be set to use another value. With drop, all
packets will be dropped immediately and no information is sent to the source. With mark all packets
will be marked with the given mark and the optional mask.
5.15.4. Using the Rich Rule Log Command

Logging can be done with the Netfilter log target and also with the audit target. A new chain is added to
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all zones with a name in the format “zone_log”, where zone is the zone name. This is processed before
the deny chain to have the proper ordering. The rules or parts of them are placed in separate chains,
according to the action of the rule, as follows:
zone_log
zone_deny
zone_allow
All logging rules will be placed in the “zone_log” chain, which will be parsed first. All reject and drop
rules will be placed in the “zone_deny” chain, which will be parsed after the log chain. All accept rules
will be placed in the “zone_allow” chain, which will be parsed after the deny chain. If a rule contains log
and also deny or allow actions, the parts of the rule that specify these actions are placed in the
matching chains.
5.15.4.1. Using the Rich Rule Log Command Example 1
Enable new IPv4 and IPv6 connections for authentication header protocol AH:
rule protocol value="ah" accept
Allow new IPv4 and IPv6 connections for protocol FTP and log 1 per minute using audit:
rule service name="ftp" log limit value="1/m" audit accept
Allow new IPv4 connections from address 192.168.0.0/24 for protocol TFTP and log 1 per minute
using syslog:
rule family="ipv4" source address="192.168.0.0/24" service name="tftp" log

prefix="tftp" level="info" limit value="1/m" accept
New IPv6 connections from 1:2:3:4:6:: for protocol RADIUS are all rejected and logged at a rate of
3 per minute. New IPv6 connections from other sources are accepted:
rule family="ipv6" source address="1:2:3:4:6::" service name="radius" log

prefix="dns" level="info" limit value="3/m" reject
rule family="ipv6" service name="radius" accept
Forward IPv6 packets received from 1:2:3:4:6:: on port 4011 with protocol TCP to 1::2:3:4:7 on
port 4012.
rule family="ipv6" source address="1:2:3:4:6::" forward-port to-

addr="1::2:3:4:7" to-port="4012" protocol="tcp" port="4011"
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Whitelist a source address to allow all connections from this source.
rule family="ipv4" source address="192.168.2.2" accept
See the firewalld.richlanguage(5) man page for more examples.
5.16. CONFIGURING FIREWALL LOCKDOWN

Local applications or services are able to change the firewall configuration if they are running as root
(for example, libvirt). With this feature, the administrator can lock the firewall configuration so that either
no applications or only applications that are added to the lockdown whitelist are able to request firewall
changes. The lockdown settings default to disabled. If enabled, the user can be sure that there are no
unwanted configuration changes made to the firewall by local applications or services.
5.16.1. Configuring Lockdown with the Command-Line Client

To query whether lockdown is enabled, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-lockdown
The command prints yes with exit status 0 if lockdown is enabled. It prints no with exit status 1
otherwise.
To enable lockdown, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --lockdown-on
To disable lockdown, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --lockdown-off
5.16.2. Configuring Lockdown Whitelist Options with the Command-Line Client

The lockdown whitelist can contain commands, security contexts, users and user IDs. If a command
entry on the whitelist ends with an asterisk “*”, then all command lines starting with that command will
match. If the “*” is not there then the absolute command including arguments must match.
The context is the security (SELinux) context of a running application or service. To get the context of a
running application use the following command:
~]$ ps -e --context
That command returns all running applications. Pipe the output through the grep tool to get the
application of interest. For example:
~]$ ps -e --context | grep example_program
To list all command lines that are on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-lockdown-whitelist-commands
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To add a command command to the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-lockdown-whitelist-command='/usr/bin/python -Es

/usr/bin/command'
To remove a command command from the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-lockdown-whitelist-command='/usr/bin/python -Es

/usr/bin/command'
To query whether the command command is on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-lockdown-whitelist-command='/usr/bin/python -Es

/usr/bin/command'
The command prints yes with exit status 0 if true. It prints no with exit status 1 otherwise.
To list all security contexts that are on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-lockdown-whitelist-contexts
To add a context context to the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-lockdown-whitelist-context=context
To remove a context context from the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-lockdown-whitelist-context=context
To query whether the context context is on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --query-lockdown-whitelist-context=context
Prints yes with exit status 0, if true, prints no with exit status 1 otherwise.
To list all user IDs that are on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-lockdown-whitelist-uids
To add a user ID uid to the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-lockdown-whitelist-uid=uid
To remove a user ID uid from the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-lockdown-whitelist-uid=uid
To query whether the user ID uid is on the whitelist, enter the following command:
~]$ firewall-cmd --query-lockdown-whitelist-uid=uid
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To list all user names that are on the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --list-lockdown-whitelist-users
To add a user name user to the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --add-lockdown-whitelist-user=user
To remove a user name user from the whitelist, enter the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --remove-lockdown-whitelist-user=user
To query whether the user name user is on the whitelist, enter the following command:
~]$ firewall-cmd --query-lockdown-whitelist-user=user
5.16.3. Configuring Lockdown Whitelist Options with Configuration Files

The default whitelist configuration file contains the NetworkManager context and the default context of
libvirt. The user ID 0 is also on the list.

<whitelist>
<selinux context="system_u:system_r:NetworkManager_t:s0"/>
<selinux context="system_u:system_r:virtd_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023"/>
<user id="0"/>
</whitelist>
Following is an example whitelist configuration file enabling all commands for the firewall-cmd utility,
for a user called user whose user ID is 815:

<whitelist>
<command name="/usr/bin/python -Es /bin/firewall-cmd*"/>
<selinux context="system_u:system_r:NetworkManager_t:s0"/>
<user id="815"/>
<user name="user"/>
</whitelist>
This example shows both user id and user name, but only one option is required. Python is the
interpreter and is prepended to the command line. You can also use a specific command, for example:
/usr/bin/python /bin/firewall-cmd --lockdown-on
In that example, only the --lockdown-on command is allowed.
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NOTE
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, all utilities are placed in the /usr/bin/ directory and the
/bin/ directory is sym-linked to the /usr/bin/ directory. In other words, although the
path for firewall-cmd when run as root might resolve to /bin/firewall-cmd,
/usr/bin/firewall-cmd can now be used. All new scripts should use the new
location. But be aware that if scripts that run as root have been written to use the
/bin/firewall-cmd path, then that command path must be whitelisted in addition to
the /usr/bin/firewall-cmd path traditionally used only for non-root users.
The “*” at the end of the name attribute of a command means that all commands that start
with this string will match. If the “*” is not there then the absolute command including
arguments must match.
5.17. CONFIGURING LOGGING FOR DENIED PACKETS

With the LogDenied option in the firewalld, it is possible to add a simple logging mechanism for
denied packets. These are the packets that are rejected or dropped. To change the setting of the
logging, edit the /etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf file or use the command-line or GUI
configuration tool.
If LogDenied is enabled, logging rules are added right before the reject and drop rules in the INPUT,
FORWARD and OUTPUT chains for the default rules and also the final reject and drop rules in zones.
The possible values for this setting are: all, unicast, broadcast, multicast, and off. The default
setting is off. With the unicast, broadcast, and multicast setting, the pkttype match is used to
match the link-layer packet type. With all, all packets are logged.
To list the actual LogDenied setting with firewall-cmd, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --get-log-denied

off
To change the LogDenied setting, use the following command as root:
~]# firewall-cmd --set-log-denied=all

success
To change the LogDenied setting with the firewalld GUI configuration tool, start firewall-config,
click the Options menu and select Change Log Denied. The LogDenied window appears. Select the
new LogDenied setting from the menu and click OK.

The following sources of information provide additional resources regarding firewalld.
5.18.1. Installed Documentation

firewalld(1) man page — Describes command options for firewalld.
firewalld.conf(5) man page — Contains information to configure firewalld.
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firewall-cmd(1) man page — Describes command options for the firewalld command-
line client.
firewall-config(1) man page — Describes settings for the firewall-config tool.
firewall-offline-cmd(1) man page — Describes command options for the firewalld

offline command-line client.
firewalld.icmptype(5) man page — Describes XML configuration files for ICMP filtering.
firewalld.ipset(5) man page — Describes XML configuration files for the firewalld IP
sets.
firewalld.service(5) man page — Describes XML configuration files for firewalld

service.
firewalld.zone(5) man page — Describes XML configuration files for firewalld zone
configuration.
firewalld.direct(5) man page — Describes the firewalld direct interface configuration

file.
firewalld.lockdown-whitelist(5) man page — Describes the firewalld lockdown

whitelist configuration file.
firewalld.richlanguage(5) man page — Describes the firewalld rich language rule

syntax.
firewalld.zones(5) man page — General description of what zones are and how to
configure them.
firewalld.dbus(5) man page — Describes the D-Bus interface of firewalld.
5.18.2. Online Documentation

http://www.firewalld.org/ — firewalld home page.
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CHAPTER 6. SYSTEM AUDITING

The Linux Audit system provides a way to track security-relevant information on your system. Based on
pre-configured rules, Audit generates log entries to record as much information about the events that are
happening on your system as possible. This information is crucial for mission-critical environments to
determine the violator of the security policy and the actions they performed. Audit does not provide
additional security to your system; rather, it can be used to discover violations of security policies used
on your system. These violations can further be prevented by additional security measures such as
SELinux.
The following list summarizes some of the information that Audit is capable of recording in its log files:
Date and time, type, and outcome of an event.
Sensitivity labels of subjects and objects.
Association of an event with the identity of the user who triggered the event.
All modifications to Audit configuration and attempts to access Audit log files.
All uses of authentication mechanisms, such as SSH, Kerberos, and others.
Changes to any trusted database, such as /etc/passwd.
Attempts to import or export information into or from the system.
Include or exclude events based on user identity, subject and object labels, and other attributes.
The use of the Audit system is also a requirement for a number of security-related certifications. Audit is
designed to meet or exceed the requirements of the following certifications or compliance guides:
Controlled Access Protection Profile (CAPP)
Labeled Security Protection Profile (LSPP)
Rule Set Base Access Control (RSBAC)
National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM)
Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
Payment Card Industry — Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)
Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG)
Audit has also been:
Evaluated by National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) and Best Security Industries
(BSI).
Certified to LSPP/CAPP/RSBAC/EAL4+ on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
Certified to Operating System Protection Profile / Evaluation Assurance Level 4+ (OSPP/EAL4+)

on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Use Cases
Watching file access
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Watching file access

Audit can track whether a file or a directory has been accessed, modified, executed, or the file's
attributes have been changed. This is useful, for example, to detect access to important files and
have an Audit trail available in case one of these files is corrupted.
Monitoring system calls

Audit can be configured to generate a log entry every time a particular system call is used. This can
be used, for example, to track changes to the system time by monitoring the settimeofday,
clock_adjtime, and other time-related system calls.
Recording commands run by a user

Audit can track whether a file has been executed, so rules can be defined to record every execution
of a particular command. For example, a rule can be defined for every executable in the /bin
directory. The resulting log entries can then be searched by user ID to generate an audit trail of
executed commands per user.
Recording execution of system pathnames

Aside from watching file access which translates a path to an inode at rule invocation, Audit can now
watch the execution of a path even if it does not exist at rule invocation, or if the file is replaced after
rule invocation. This allows rules to continue to work after upgrading a program executable or before
it is even installed.
Recording security events

The pam_faillock authentication module is capable of recording failed login attempts. Audit can be
set up to record failed login attempts as well, and provides additional information about the user who
attempted to log in.
Searching for events

Audit provides the ausearch utility, which can be used to filter the log entries and provide a complete
audit trail based on a number of conditions.
Running summary reports

The aureport utility can be used to generate, among other things, daily reports of recorded events. A
system administrator can then analyze these reports and investigate suspicious activity further.
Monitoring network access

The iptables and ebtables utilities can be configured to trigger Audit events, allowing system
administrators to monitor network access.
NOTE
System performance may be affected depending on the amount of information that is

collected by Audit.
6.1. AUDIT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

The Audit system consists of two main parts: the user-space applications and utilities, and the kernel-
side system call processing. The kernel component receives system calls from user-space applications
and filters them through one of the three filters: user, task, or exit. Once a system call passes the exclude
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filter, it is sent through one of the aforementioned filters, which, based on the Audit rule configuration,
sends it to the Audit daemon for further processing. Figure 6.1, “Audit System Architecture” illustrates
this process.
Figure 6.1. Audit System Architecture
The user-space Audit daemon collects the information from the kernel and creates entries in a log file.
Other Audit user-space utilities interact with the Audit daemon, the kernel Audit component, or the Audit
log files:
audisp — the Audit dispatcher daemon interacts with the Audit daemon and sends events to
other applications for further processing. The purpose of this daemon is to provide a plug-in
mechanism so that real-time analytical programs can interact with Audit events.
auditctl — the Audit control utility interacts with the kernel Audit component to manage rules
and to control a number of settings and parameters of the event generation process.
The remaining Audit utilities take the contents of the Audit log files as input and generate output
based on user's requirements. For example, the aureport utility generates a report of all
recorded events.
6.2. INSTALLING THE AUDIT PACKAGES

In order to use the Audit system, you must have the audit packages installed on your system. The audit
packages (audit and audit-libs) are installed by default on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. If you do not have
these packages installed, execute the following command as the root user to install Audit and the
dependencies:
~]# yum install audit
6.3. CONFIGURING THE AUDIT SERVICE

The Audit daemon can be configured in the /etc/audit/auditd.conf file. This file consists of
configuration parameters that modify the behavior of the Audit daemon. Empty lines and text following a
hash sign (#) are ignored. For further details, see the auditd.conf(5) man page.
6.3.1. Configuring auditd for a Secure Environment
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The default auditd configuration should be suitable for most environments. However, if your
environment has to meet strict security policies, the following settings are suggested for the Audit
daemon configuration in the /etc/audit/auditd.conf file:
log_file
The directory that holds the Audit log files (usually /var/log/audit/) should reside on a separate
mount point. This prevents other processes from consuming space in this directory, and provides
accurate detection of the remaining space for the Audit daemon.
max_log_file
Specifies the maximum size of a single Audit log file, must be set to make full use of the available
space on the partition that holds the Audit log files.
max_log_file_action
Decides what action is taken once the limit set in max_log_file is reached, should be set to
keep_logs to prevent Audit log files from being overwritten.
space_left
Specifies the amount of free space left on the disk for which an action that is set in the
space_left_action parameter is triggered. Must be set to a number that gives the administrator
enough time to respond and free up disk space. The space_left value depends on the rate at
which the Audit log files are generated.
space_left_action
It is recommended to set the space_left_action parameter to email or exec with an appropriate
notification method.
admin_space_left
Specifies the absolute minimum amount of free space for which an action that is set in the
admin_space_left_action parameter is triggered, must be set to a value that leaves enough
space to log actions performed by the administrator.
admin_space_left_action
Should be set to single to put the system into single-user mode and allow the administrator to free
up some disk space.
disk_full_action
Specifies an action that is triggered when no free space is available on the partition that holds the
Audit log files, must be set to halt or single. This ensures that the system is either shut down or
operating in single-user mode when Audit can no longer log events.
disk_error_action
Specifies an action that is triggered in case an error is detected on the partition that holds the Audit
log files, must be set to syslog, single, or halt, depending on your local security policies
regarding the handling of hardware malfunctions.
flush
Should be set to incremental_async. It works in combination with the freq parameter, which
determines how many records can be sent to the disk before forcing a hard synchronization with the
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hard drive. The freq parameter should be set to 100. These parameters assure that Audit event
data is synchronized with the log files on the disk while keeping good performance for bursts of
activity.
The remaining configuration options should be set according to your local security policy.
6.4. STARTING THE AUDIT SERVICE

Once auditd is configured, start the service to collect Audit information and store it in the log files.
Execute the following command as the root user to start auditd:
~]# service auditd start
NOTE
The service command is the only way to correctly interact with the auditd daemon.
You need to use the service command so that the auid value is properly recorded. You
can use the systemctl command only for two actions: enable and status.
To configure auditd to start at boot time using the following command as the root user:
~]# systemctl enable auditd
A number of other actions can be performed on auditd using the service auditd action
command, where action can be one of the following:
stop
Stops auditd.
restart
Restarts auditd.
reload or force-reload
Reloads the configuration of auditd from the /etc/audit/auditd.conf file.
rotate
Rotates the log files in the /var/log/audit/ directory.
resume
Resumes logging of Audit events after it has been previously suspended, for example, when there is
not enough free space on the disk partition that holds the Audit log files.
condrestart or try-restart
Restarts auditd only if it is already running.
status
Displays the running status of auditd.
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6.5. DEFINING AUDIT RULES

The Audit system operates on a set of rules that define what is to be captured in the log files. The
following types of Audit rules can be specified:
Control rules
Allow the Audit system's behavior and some of its configuration to be modified.
File system rules

Also known as file watches, allow the auditing of access to a particular file or a directory.
System call rules

Allow logging of system calls that any specified program makes.
Audit rules can be set:
on the command line using the auditctl utility. Note that these rules are not persistent across
reboots. For details, see Section 6.5.1, “Defining Audit Rules with auditctl”
in the /etc/audit/audit.rules file. For details, see Section 6.5.3, “Defining Persistent
Audit Rules and Controls in the /etc/audit/audit.rules File”
6.5.1. Defining Audit Rules with auditctl

The auditctl command allows you to control the basic functionality of the Audit system and to define
rules that decide which Audit events are logged.
NOTE
All commands which interact with the Audit service and the Audit log files require root
privileges. Ensure you execute these commands as the root user. Additionally,
CAP_AUDIT_CONTROL is required to set up audit services and CAP_AUDIT_WRITE is
required to log user messages.
Defining Control Rules

The following are some of the control rules that allow you to modify the behavior of the Audit system:
-b
sets the maximum amount of existing Audit buffers in the kernel, for example:
~]# auditctl -b 8192
-f
sets the action that is performed when a critical error is detected, for example:
~]# auditctl -f 2
The above configuration triggers a kernel panic in case of a critical error.
-e
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enables and disables the Audit system or locks its configuration, for example:
~]# auditctl -e 2
The above command locks the Audit configuration.
-r
sets the rate of generated messages per second, for example:
~]# auditctl -r 0
The above configuration sets no rate limit on generated messages.
-s
reports the status of the Audit system, for example:
~]# auditctl -s
AUDIT_STATUS: enabled=1 flag=2 pid=0 rate_limit=0 backlog_limit=8192
lost=259 backlog=0
-l
lists all currently loaded Audit rules, for example:
~]# auditctl -l
-w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
-w /etc/selinux -p wa -k selinux_changes
-w /sbin/insmod -p x -k module_insertion
⋮
-D
deletes all currently loaded Audit rules, for example:
~]# auditctl -D
No rules
Defining File System Rules

To define a file system rule, use the following syntax:
auditctl -w path_to_file -p permissions -k key_name
where:
path_to_file is the file or directory that is audited.
permissions are the permissions that are logged:
r — read access to a file or a directory.
w — write access to a file or a directory.
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x — execute access to a file or a directory.
a — change in the file's or directory's attribute.
key_name is an optional string that helps you identify which rule or a set of rules generated a
particular log entry.
Example 6.1. File System Rules
To define a rule that logs all write access to, and every attribute change of, the /etc/passwd file,
execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
Note that the string following the -k option is arbitrary.
To define a rule that logs all write access to, and every attribute change of, all the files in the
/etc/selinux/ directory, execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -w /etc/selinux/ -p wa -k selinux_changes
To define a rule that logs the execution of the /sbin/insmod command, which inserts a module into
the Linux kernel, execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -w /sbin/insmod -p x -k module_insertion
Defining System Call Rules

To define a system call rule, use the following syntax:
auditctl -a action,filter -S system_call -F field=value -k key_name
where:
action and filter specify when a certain event is logged. action can be either always or never.
filter specifies which kernel rule-matching filter is applied to the event. The rule-matching filter
can be one of the following: task, exit, user, and exclude. For more information about these
filters, see the beginning of Section 6.1, “Audit System Architecture”.
system_call specifies the system call by its name. A list of all system calls can be found in the
/usr/include/asm/unistd_64.h file. Several system calls can be grouped into one rule,
each specified after its own -S option.
field=value specifies additional options that further modify the rule to match events based on a
specified architecture, group ID, process ID, and others. For a full listing of all available field
types and their values, see the auditctl(8) man page.
Example 6.2. System Call Rules
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To define a rule that creates a log entry every time the adjtimex or settimeofday system calls
are used by a program, and the system uses the 64-bit architecture, execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S adjtimex -S settimeofday -k

time_change
To define a rule that creates a log entry every time a file is deleted or renamed by a system user
whose ID is 1000 or larger, execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -a always,exit -S unlink -S unlinkat -S rename -S renameat

-F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k delete
Note that the -F auid!=4294967295 option is used to exclude users whose login UID is not set.
It is also possible to define a file system rule using the system call rule syntax. The following
command creates a rule for system calls that is analogous to the -w /etc/shadow -p wa file
system rule:
~]# auditctl -a always,exit -F path=/etc/shadow -F perm=wa
6.5.2. Defining Executable File Rules

To define an executable file rule, use the following syntax:
auditctl -a action,filter [ -F arch=cpu -S system_call] -F

exe=path_to_executable_file -k key_name
where:
action and filter specify when a certain event is logged. action can be either always or never.
filter specifies which kernel rule-matching filter is applied to the event. The rule-matching filter
can be one of the following: task, exit, user, and exclude. For more information about these
filters, see the beginning of Section 6.1, “Audit System Architecture”.
system_call specifies the system call by its name. A list of all system calls can be found in the
/usr/include/asm/unistd_64.h file. Several system calls can be grouped into one rule,
each specified after its own -S option.
path_to_executable_file is the absolute path to the executable file that is audited.
Example 6.3. Executable File Rules
To define a rule that logs all execution of the /bin/id program, execute the following command:
~]# auditctl -F exe=/bin/id -S execve -k execution_bin_id
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6.5.3. Defining Persistent Audit Rules and Controls in the /etc/audit/audit.rules

File
To define Audit rules that are persistent across reboots, you must either directly include them in the
/etc/audit/audit.rules file or use the augenrules program that reads rules located in the
/etc/audit/rules.d/ directory. The /etc/audit/audit.rules file uses the same auditctl
command line syntax to specify the rules. Empty lines and text following a hash sign (#) are ignored.
The auditctl command can also be used to read rules from a specified file using the -R option, for
example:
~]# auditctl -R /usr/share/doc/audit/rules/30-stig.rules
Defining Control Rules

A file can contain only the following control rules that modify the behavior of the Audit system: -b, -D, -
e, -f, -r, --loginuid-immutable, and --backlog_wait_time. For more information on these
options, see the section called “Defining Control Rules”.
Example 6.4. Control Rules in audit.rules
# Delete all previous rules

-D
# Set buffer size

-b 8192
# Make the configuration immutable -- reboot is required to change audit

rules
-e 2
# Panic when a failure occurs

-f 2
# Generate at most 100 audit messages per second

-r 100
# Make login UID immutable once it is set (may break containers)

--loginuid-immutable 1
Defining File System and System Call Rules

File system and system call rules are defined using the auditctl syntax. The examples in
Section 6.5.1, “Defining Audit Rules with auditctl” can be represented with the following rules file:
Example 6.5. File System and System Call Rules in audit.rules
-w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
-w /etc/selinux/ -p wa -k selinux_changes
-w /sbin/insmod -p x -k module_insertion
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S adjtimex -S settimeofday -k time_change

-a always,exit -S unlink -S unlinkat -S rename -S renameat -F auid>=1000
-F auid!=4294967295 -k delete
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Preconfigured Rules Files

In the /usr/share/doc/audit/rules/ directory, the audit package provides a set of pre-configured
rules files according to various certification standards:
30-nispom.rules — Audit rule configuration that meets the requirements specified in the
Information System Security chapter of the National Industrial Security Program Operating
Manual.
30-pci-dss-v31.rules — Audit rule configuration that meets the requirements set by

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) v3.1.
30-stig.rules — Audit rule configuration that meets the requirements set by

Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG).
To use these configuration files, create a backup of your original /etc/audit/audit.rules file and
copy the configuration file of your choice over the /etc/audit/audit.rules file:
~]# cp /etc/audit/audit.rules /etc/audit/audit.rules_backup

~]# cp /usr/share/doc/audit/rules/30-stig.rules /etc/audit/audit.rules
NOTE
The Audit rules have a numbering scheme that allows them to be ordered. To learn more
about the naming scheme, see the /usr/share/doc/audit/rules/README-rules
file.
Using augenrules to Define Persistent Rules

The augenrules script reads rules located in the /etc/audit/rules.d/ directory and compiles them
into an audit.rules file. This script processes all files that ends in .rules in a specific order based
on their natural sort order. The files in this directory are organized into groups with following meanings:
10 - Kernel and auditctl configuration
20 - Rules that could match general rules but you want a different match
30 - Main rules
40 - Optional rules
50 - Server-specific rules
70 - System local rules
90 - Finalize (immutable)
The rules are not meant to be used all at once. They are pieces of a policy that should be thought out
and individual files copied to /etc/audit/rules.d/. For example, to set a system up in the STIG
configuration, copy rules 10-base-config, 30-stig, 31-privileged, and 99-finalize.
Once you have the rules in the /etc/audit/rules.d/ directory, load them by running the
augenrules script with the --load directive:
~]# augenrules --load
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augenrules --load No rules

enabled 1
failure 1
pid 634
rate_limit 0
backlog_limit 8192
lost 0
backlog 0
enabled 1
failure 1
pid 634
rate_limit 0
backlog_limit 8192
lost 0
backlog 1
For more information on the Audit rules and the augenrules script, see the audit.rules(8) and
augenrules(8) man pages.
6.6. UNDERSTANDING AUDIT LOG FILES

By default, the Audit system stores log entries in the /var/log/audit/audit.log file; if log rotation
is enabled, rotated audit.log files are stored in the same directory.
The following Audit rule logs every attempt to read or modify the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file:
-w /etc/ssh/sshd_config -p warx -k sshd_config
If the auditd daemon is running, for example, using the following command creates a new event in the
Audit log file:
~]$ cat /etc/ssh/sshd_config
This event in the audit.log file looks as follows:
type=SYSCALL msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287): arch=c000003e syscall=2

success=no exit=-13 a0=7fffd19c5592 a1=0 a2=7fffd19c4b50 a3=a items=1
ppid=2686 pid=3538 auid=1000 uid=1000 gid=1000 euid=1000 suid=1000
fsuid=1000 egid=1000 sgid=1000 fsgid=1000 tty=pts0 ses=1 comm="cat"
exe="/bin/cat" subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023
key="sshd_config"
type=CWD msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287): cwd="/home/shadowman"
type=PATH msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287): item=0
name="/etc/ssh/sshd_config" inode=409248 dev=fd:00 mode=0100600 ouid=0
ogid=0 rdev=00:00 obj=system_u:object_r:etc_t:s0 objtype=NORMAL
cap_fp=none cap_fi=none cap_fe=0 cap_fver=0
type=PROCTITLE msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287) :
proctitle=636174002F6574632F7373682F737368645F636F6E666967
The above event consists of four records, which share the same time stamp and serial number. Records
always tart with the type= keyword. Each record consists of several name=value pairs separated by a
white space or a comma. A detailed analysis of the above event follows:
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First Record
type=SYSCALL
The type field contains the type of the record. In this example, the SYSCALL value specifies that this
record was triggered by a system call to the kernel.
For a list of all possible type values and their explanations, see Section B.2, “Audit Record Types”.
msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287):
The msg field records:
a time stamp and a unique ID of the record in the form audit(time_stamp:ID). Multiple
records can share the same time stamp and ID if they were generated as part of the same
Audit event. The time stamp is using the Unix time format - seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on
1 January 1970.
various event-specific name=value pairs provided by the kernel or user space applications.
arch=c000003e
The arch field contains information about the CPU architecture of the system. The value,c000003e,
is encoded in hexadecimal notation. When searching Audit records with the ausearch command,
use the -i or --interpret option to automatically convert hexadecimal values into their human-
readable equivalents. The c000003e value is interpreted as x86_64.
syscall=2
The syscall field records the type of the system call that was sent to the kernel. The value, 2, can
be matched with its human-readable equivalent in the /usr/include/asm/unistd_64.h file. In
this case, 2 is the open system call. Note that the ausyscall utility allows you to convert system call
numbers to their human-readable equivalents. Use the ausyscall --dump command to display a
listing of all system calls along with their numbers. For more information, see the ausyscall(8) man
page.
success=no
The success field records whether the system call recorded in that particular event succeeded or
failed. In this case, the call did not succeed.
exit=-13
The exit field contains a value that specifies the exit code returned by the system call. This value
varies for different system call. You can interpret the value to its human-readable equivalent with the
following command:
~]# ausearch --interpret --exit -13
Note that the previous example assumes that your Audit log contains an event that failed with exit
code -13.
a0=7fffd19c5592, a1=0, a2=7fffd19c5592, a3=a

The a0 to a3 fields record the first four arguments, encoded in hexadecimal notation, of the system
call in this event. These arguments depend on the system call that is used; they can be interpreted
by the ausearch utility.
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items=1
The items field contains the number of auxiliary records that follow the syscall record.
ppid=2686
The ppid field records the Parent Process ID (PPID). In this case, 2686 was the PPID of the parent
process such as bash.
pid=3538
The pid field records the Process ID (PID). In this case, 3538 was the PID of the cat process.
auid=1000
The auid field records the Audit user ID, that is the loginuid. This ID is assigned to a user upon login
and is inherited by every process even when the user's identity changes, for example, by switching
user accounts with the su - john command.
uid=1000
The uid field records the user ID of the user who started the analyzed process. The user ID can be
interpreted into user names with the following command: ausearch -i --uid UID.
gid=1000
The gid field records the group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
euid=1000
The euid field records the effective user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
suid=1000
The suid field records the set user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
fsuid=1000
The fsuid field records the file system user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
egid=1000
The egid field records the effective group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
sgid=1000
The sgid field records the set group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
fsgid=1000
The fsgid field records the file system group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
tty=pts0
The tty field records the terminal from which the analyzed process was invoked.
ses=1
The ses field records the session ID of the session from which the analyzed process was invoked.
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comm="cat"
The comm field records the command-line name of the command that was used to invoke the
analyzed process. In this case, the cat command was used to trigger this Audit event.
exe="/bin/cat"
The exe field records the path to the executable that was used to invoke the analyzed process.
subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023
The subj field records the SELinux context with which the analyzed process was labeled at the time
of execution.
key="sshd_config"
The key field records the administrator-defined string associated with the rule that generated this
event in the Audit log.
Second Record
type=CWD
In the second record, the type field value is CWD — current working directory. This type is used to
record the working directory from which the process that invoked the system call specified in the first
record was executed.
The purpose of this record is to record the current process's location in case a relative path winds up
being captured in the associated PATH record. This way the absolute path can be reconstructed.
msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287)
The msg field holds the same time stamp and ID value as the value in the first record. The time stamp
is using the Unix time format - seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970.
cwd="/home/user_name"
The cwd field contains the path to the directory in which the system call was invoked.
Third Record
type=PATH
In the third record, the type field value is PATH. An Audit event contains a PATH-type record for every
path that is passed to the system call as an argument. In this Audit event, only one path
(/etc/ssh/sshd_config) was used as an argument.
msg=audit(1364481363.243:24287):
The msg field holds the same time stamp and ID value as the value in the first and second record.
item=0
The item field indicates which item, of the total number of items referenced in the SYSCALL type
record, the current record is. This number is zero-based; a value of 0 means it is the first item.
name="/etc/ssh/sshd_config"
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The name field records the full path of the file or directory that was passed to the system call as an
argument. In this case, it was the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file.
inode=409248
The inode field contains the inode number associated with the file or directory recorded in this event.
The following command displays the file or directory that is associated with the 409248 inode
number:
~]# find / -inum 409248 -print

/etc/ssh/sshd_config
dev=fd:00
The dev field specifies the minor and major ID of the device that contains the file or directory
recorded in this event. In this case, the value represents the /dev/fd/0 device.
mode=0100600
The mode field records the file or directory permissions, encoded in numerical notation as returned by
the stat command in the st_mode field. See the stat(2) man page for more information. In this
case, 0100600 can be interpreted as -rw-------, meaning that only the root user has read and
write permissions to the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file.
ouid=0
The ouid field records the object owner's user ID.
ogid=0
The ogid field records the object owner's group ID.
rdev=00:00
The rdev field contains a recorded device identifier for special files only. In this case, it is not used as
the recorded file is a regular file.
obj=system_u:object_r:etc_t:s0
The obj field records the SELinux context with which the recorded file or directory was labeled at the
time of execution.
objtype=NORMAL
The objtype field records the intent of each path record's operation in the context of a given syscall.
cap_fp=none
The cap_fp field records data related to the setting of a permitted file system-based capability of the
file or directory object.
cap_fi=none
The cap_fi field records data related to the setting of an inherited file system-based capability of the
file or directory object.
cap_fe=0
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The cap_fe field records the setting of the effective bit of the file system-based capability of the file
or directory object.
cap_fver=0
The cap_fver field records the version of the file system-based capability of the file or directory
object.
Fourth Record
type=PROCTITLE
The type field contains the type of the record. In this example, the PROCTITLE value specifies that
this record gives the full command-line that triggered this Audit event, triggered by a system call to the
kernel.
proctitle=636174002F6574632F7373682F737368645F636F6E666967
The proctitle field records the full command-line of the command that was used to invoke the
analyzed process. The field is encoded in hexadecimal notation to not allow the user to influence the
Audit log parser. The text decodes to the command that triggered this Audit event. When searching
Audit records with the ausearch command, use the -i or --interpret option to automatically
convert hexadecimal values into their human-readable equivalents. The
636174002F6574632F7373682F737368645F636F6E666967 value is interpreted as x86_64.
The Audit event analyzed above contains only a subset of all possible fields that an event can contain.
For a list of all event fields and their explanation, see Section B.1, “Audit Event Fields”. For a list of all
event types and their explanation, see Section B.2, “Audit Record Types”.
Example 6.6. Additional audit.log Events
The following Audit event records a successful start of the auditd daemon. The ver field shows the
version of the Audit daemon that was started.
type=DAEMON_START msg=audit(1363713609.192:5426): auditd start, ver=2.2

format=raw kernel=2.6.32-358.2.1.el6.x86_64 auid=1000 pid=4979
subj=unconfined_u:system_r:auditd_t:s0 res=success
The following Audit event records a failed attempt of user with UID of 1000 to log in as the root user.
type=USER_AUTH msg=audit(1364475353.159:24270): user pid=3280 uid=1000

auid=1000 ses=1 subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0-
s0:c0.c1023 msg='op=PAM:authentication acct="root" exe="/bin/su"
hostname=? addr=? terminal=pts/0 res=failed'
6.7. SEARCHING THE AUDIT LOG FILES

The ausearch utility allows you to search Audit log files for specific events. By default, ausearch
searches the /var/log/audit/audit.log file. You can specify a different file using the ausearch
options -if file_name command. Supplying multiple options in one ausearch command is
equivalent to using the AND operator between field types and the OR operator between multiple
instances of the same field type.
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Example 6.7. Using ausearch to Search Audit Log Files
To search the /var/log/audit/audit.log file for failed login attempts, use the following
command:
~]# ausearch --message USER_LOGIN --success no --interpret
To search for all account, group, and role changes, use the following command:
~]# ausearch -m ADD_USER -m DEL_USER -m ADD_GROUP -m USER_CHAUTHTOK -m

DEL_GROUP -m CHGRP_ID -m ROLE_ASSIGN -m ROLE_REMOVE -i
To search for all logged actions performed by a certain user, using the user's login ID (auid), use the
following command:
~]# ausearch -ua 1000 -i
To search for all failed system calls from yesterday up until now, use the following command:
~]# ausearch --start yesterday --end now -m SYSCALL -sv no -i
For a full listing of all ausearch options, see the ausearch(8) man page.
6.8. CREATING AUDIT REPORTS

The aureport utility allows you to generate summary and columnar reports on the events recorded in
Audit log files. By default, all audit.log files in the /var/log/audit/ directory are queried to create
the report. You can specify a different file to run the report against using the aureport options -if
file_name command.
Example 6.8. Using aureport to Generate Audit Reports
To generate a report for logged events in the past three days excluding the current example day, use
~]# aureport --start 04/08/2013 00:00:00 --end 04/11/2013 00:00:00
To generate a report of all executable file events, use the following command:
~]# aureport -x
To generate a summary of the executable file event report above, use the following command:
~]# aureport -x --summary
To generate a summary report of failed events for all users, use the following command:
~]# aureport -u --failed --summary -i
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To generate a summary report of all failed login attempts per each system user, use the following
command:
~]# aureport --login --summary -i
To generate a report from an ausearch query that searches all file access events for user ID 1000,
use the following command:
~]# ausearch --start today --loginuid 1000 --raw | aureport -f --summary
To generate a report of all Audit files that are queried and the time range of events they include, use
~]# aureport -t
For a full listing of all aureport options, see the aureport(8) man page.

For more information about the Audit system, see the following sources.
Online Sources
The Linux Audit Documentation Project page: https://github.com/linux-audit/audit-
documentation/wiki.
Documentation provided by the audit package can be found in the /usr/share/doc/audit/
directory.
Manual Pages
audispd.conf(5)
auditd.conf(5)
ausearch-expression(5)
audit.rules(7)
audispd(8)
auditctl(8)
auditd(8)
aulast(8)
aulastlog(8)
aureport(8)
ausearch(8)
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ausyscall(8)
autrace(8)
auvirt(8)
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CHAPTER 7. COMPLIANCE AND VULNERABILITY SCANNING

WITH OPENSCAP
7.1. SECURITY COMPLIANCE IN RED HAT ENTERPRISE LINUX

A compliance audit is a process of figuring out whether a given object follows all the rules written out in a
compliance policy. The compliance policy is defined by security professionals who specify required
settings, often in the form of a checklist, that are to be used in the computing environment.
The compliance policy can vary substantially across organizations and even across different systems
within the same organization. Differences among these policies are based on the purpose of these
systems and its importance for the organization. The custom software settings and deployment
characteristics also raise a need for custom policy checklists.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides tools that allow for fully automated compliance audit. These tools are
based on the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) standard and are designed for automated
tailoring of compliance policies.
Security Compliance Tools Supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
SCAP Workbench — The scap-workbench graphical utility is designed to perform

configuration and vulnerability scans on a single local or remote system. It can be also used to
generate security reports based on these scans and evaluations.
OpenSCAP — The oscap command-line utility is designed to perform configuration and

vulnerability scans on a local system, to validate security compliance content, and to generate
reports and guides based on these scans and evaluations.
Script Check Engine (SCE) — SCE is an extension to the SCAP protocol that allows
administrators to write their security content using a scripting language, such as Bash, Python, or
Ruby. The SCE extension is provided in the openscap-engine-sce package.
SCAP Security Guide (SSG) — The scap-security-guide package provides the latest collection
of security policies for Linux systems. The guidance consists of a catalog of practical hardening
advice, linked to government requirements where applicable. The project bridges the gap
between generalized policy requirements and specific implementation guidelines.
If you require performing automated compliance audits on multiple systems remotely, you can utilize
OpenSCAP solution for Red Hat Satellite. For more information see Section 7.8, “Using OpenSCAP with
Red Hat Satellite” and Section 7.10, “Additional Resources”.
7.2. DEFINING COMPLIANCE POLICY

The security or compliance policy is rarely written from scratch. ISO 27000 standard series, derivative
works, and other sources provide security policy templates and practice recommendations that should be
helpful to start with. However, organizations building theirs information security program need to amend
the policy templates to align with their needs. The policy template should be chosen on the basis of its
relevancy to the company environment and then the template has to be adjusted because either the
template contains build-in assumptions which cannot be applied to the organization, or the template
explicitly requires that certain decisions have to be made.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux auditing capabilities are based on the Security Content Automation Protocol
(SCAP) standard. SCAP is a synthesis of interoperable specifications that standardize the format and
nomenclature by which software flaw and security configuration information is communicated, both to
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machines and humans. SCAP is a multi-purpose framework of specifications that supports automated
configuration, vulnerability and patch checking, technical control compliance activities, and security
measurement.
In other words, SCAP is a vendor-neutral way of expressing security policy, and as such it is widely used
in modern enterprises. SCAP specifications create an ecosystem where the format of security content is
well known and standardized while the implementation of the scanner or policy editor is not mandated.
Such a status enables organizations to build their security policy (SCAP content) once, no matter how
many security vendors do they employ.
The latest version of SCAP includes several underlying standards. These components are organized into
groups according to their function within SCAP as follows:
SCAP Components
Languages — This group consists of SCAP languages that define standard vocabularies and
conventions for expressing compliance policy.
The eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format (XCCDF) — A language

designed to express, organize, and manage security guidance.
Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language (OVAL) — A language developed to perform

logical assertion about the state of the scanned system.
Open Checklist Interactive Language (OCIL) — A language designed to provide a standard

way to query users and interpret user responses to the given questions.
Asset Identification (AI) — A language developed to provide a data model, methods, and
guidance for identifying security assets.
Asset Reporting Format (ARF) — A language designed to express the transport format of
information about collected security assets and the relationship between assets and security
reports.
Enumerations — This group includes SCAP standards that define naming format and an official
list or dictionary of items from certain security-related areas of interest.
Common Configuration Enumeration (CCE) — An enumeration of security-relevant

configuration elements for applications and operating systems.
Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) — A structured naming scheme used to identify

information technology (IT) systems, platforms, and software packages.
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) — A reference method to a collection of

publicly known software vulnerabilities and exposures.
Metrics — This group comprises of frameworks to identify and evaluate security risks.
Common Configuration Scoring System (CCSS) — A metric system to evaluate security-

relevant configuration elements and assign them scores in order to help users to prioritize
appropriate response steps.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) — A metric system to evaluate software

vulnerabilities and assign them scores in order to help users prioritize their security risks.
Integrity — An SCAP specification to maintain integrity of SCAP content and scan results.
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Trust Model for Security Automation Data (TMSAD) — A set of recommendations explaining
usage of existing specification to represent signatures, hashes, key information, and identity
information in context of an XML file within a security automation domain.
Each of the SCAP components has its own XML-based document format and its XML name space. A
compliance policy expressed in SCAP can either take a form of a single OVAL definition XML file, data
stream file, single zip archive, or a set of separate XML files containing an XCCDF file that represents a
policy checklist.
7.2.1. The XCCDF File Format

The XCCDF language is designed to support information interchange, document generation,
organizational and situational tailoring, automated compliance testing, and compliance scoring. The
language is mostly descriptive and does not contain any commands to perform security scans. However,
an XCCDF document can refer to other SCAP components, and as such it can be used to craft a
compliance policy that is portable among all the target platforms with the exception of the related
assessment documents (OVAL, OCIL).
The common way to represent a compliance policy is a set of XML files where one of the files is an
XCCDF checklist. This XCCDF file usually points to the assessment resources, multiple OVAL, OCIL and
the Script Check Engine (SCE) files. Furthermore, the file set can contain a CPE dictionary file and an
OVAL file defining objects for this dictionary.
Being an XML-based language, the XCCDF defines and uses a vast selection of XML elements and
attributes. The following list briefly introduces the main XCCDF elements; for more details about XCCDF,
consult the NIST Interagency Report 7275 Revision 4.
Main XML Elements of the XCCDF Document
<xccdf:Benchmark> — This is a root element that encloses the whole XCCDF document. It
may also contain checklist metadata, such as a title, description, list of authors, date of the latest
modification, and status of the checklist acceptance.
<xccdf:Rule> — This is a key element that represents a checklist requirement and holds its
description. It may contain child elements that define actions verifying or enforcing compliance
with the given rule or modify the rule itself.
<xccdf:Value> — This key element is used for expressing properties of other XCCDF
elements within the benchmark.
<xccdf:Group> — This element is used to organize an XCCDF document to structures with

the same context or requirement domains by gathering the <xccdf:Rule>, <xccdf:Value>,
and <xccdf:Group> elements.
<xccdf:Profile> — This element serves for a named tailoring of the XCCDF benchmark. It
allows the benchmark to hold several different tailorings. <xccdf:Profile> utilizes several
selector elements, such as <xccdf:select> or <xccdf:refine-rule>, to determine which
elements are going to be modified and processed while it is in effect.
<xccdf:Tailoring> — This element allows defining the benchmark profiles outside the
benchmark, which is sometimes desirable for manual tailoring of the compliance policy.
<xccdf:TestResult> — This element serves for keeping the scan results for the given
benchmark on the target system. Each <xccdf:TestResult> should refer to the profile that
was used to define the compliance policy for the particular scan and it should also contain
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important information about the target system that is relevant for the scan.
<xccdf:rule-result> — This is a child element of <xccdf:TestResult> that is used to

hold the result of applying a specific rule from the benchmark to the target system.
<xccdf:fix> — This is a child element of <xccdf:Rule> that serves for remediation of the
target system that is not compliant with the given rule. It can contain a command or script that is
run on the target system in order to bring the system into compliance the rule.
<xccdf:check> — This is a child element of <xccdf:Rule> that refers to an external source

which defines how to evaluate the given rule.
<xccdf:select> — This is a selector element that is used for including or excluding the
chosen rules or groups of rules from the policy.
<xccdf:set-value> — This is a selector element that is used for overwriting the current value
of the specified <xccdf:Value> element without modifying any of its other properties.
<xccdf:refine-value> — This is a selector element that is used for specifying constraints of

the particular <xccdf:Value> element during policy tailoring.
<xccdf:refine-rule> — This selector element allows overwriting properties of the selected

rules.
Example 7.1. An Example of an XCCDF Document
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<Benchmark xmlns="http://checklists.nist.gov/xccdf/1.2"
id="xccdf_com.example.www_benchmark_test">
<status>incomplete</status>
<version>0.1</version>
<Profile id="xccdf_com.example.www_profile_1">
<title>Profile title is compulsory</title>
<select idref="xccdf_com.example.www_group_1"
selected="true"/>
<select idref="xccdf_com.example.www_rule_1"
selected="true"/>
<refine-value idref="xccdf_com.example.www_value_1"
selector="telnet service"/>
</Profile>
<Group id="xccdf_com.example.www_group_1">
<Value id="xccdf_com.example.www_value_1">
<value selector="telnet_service">telnet-server</value>
<value selector="dhcp_servide">dhcpd</value>
<value selector="ftp_service">tftpd</value>
</Value>
<Rule id="xccdf_com.example.www_rule_1">
<title>The telnet-server Package Shall Not Be Installed </title>
<rationale>
Removing the telnet-server package decreases the risk
of the telnet service’s accidental (or intentional) activation
</rationale>
<fix platform="cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6"
reboot="false"
disruption="low"
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Security Guide
system="urn:xccdf:fix:script:sh">
yum -y remove
<sub idref="xccdf_com.example.www_value_1"/>
</fix>
<check system="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5">
<check-export value-id="xccdf_com.example.www_value_1"
export-name="oval:com.example.www:var:1"/>
<check-content-ref href="examplary.oval.xml"
name="oval:com.example.www:def:1"/>
</check>
<check system="http://open-scap.org/page/SCE">
<check-import import-name="stdout"/>
<check-content-ref href="telnet_server.sh"/>
</check>
</Rule>
</Group>
</Benchmark>
7.2.2. The OVAL File Format

The Open Vulnerability Assessment Language (OVAL) is the essential and oldest component of SCAP.
The main goal of the OVAL standard is to enable interoperability among security products. That is
achieved by standardization of the following three domains:
1. Representation of the target system configuration.
2. Analysis of the target system for the presence of a particular machine state.
3. Reporting the results of the comparison between the specified machine state and the observed
machine state.
Unlike other tools or custom scripts, the OVAL language describes a required state of resources in a
declarative manner. The OVAL language code is never executed directly, but by means of an OVAL
interpreter tool called scanner. The declarative nature of OVAL ensures that the state of the assessed
system is not accidentally modified, which is important because security scanners are often run with the
highest possible privileges.
OVAL specification is open for public comments and contribution and various IT companies collaborate
with the MITRE Corporation, federally funded not-for-profit organization. The OVAL specification is
continuously evolving and different editions are distinguished by a version number. The current version
5.11.1 was released in April 2015.
Like all other SCAP components, OVAL is based on XML. The OVAL standard defines several document
formats. Each of them includes different kind of information and serves a different purpose.
The OVAL Document Formats
The OVAL Definitions format is the most common OVAL file format that is used directly for
system scans. The OVAL Definitions document describes the required state of the target system.
The OVAL Variables format defines variables used to amend the OVAL Definitions document.
The OVAL Variables document is typically used in conjunction with the OVAL Definitions
document to tailor the security content for the target system at runtime.
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The OVAL System Characteristics format holds information about the assessed system. The
OVAL System Characteristics document is typically used to compare the actual state of the
system against the expected state defined by an OVAL Definitions document.
The OVAL Results is the most comprehensive OVAL format that is used to report results of the
system evaluation. The OVAL Results document typically contains copy of the evaluated OVAL
definitions, bound OVAL variables, OVAL system characteristics, and results of tests that are
computed based on comparison of the system characteristics and the definitions.
The OVAL Directives format is used to tailor verbosity of an OVAL Result document by either
including or excluding certain details.
The OVAL Common Model format contains definitions of constructs and enumerations used in
several other OVAL schemes. It is used to reuse OVAL definitions in order to avoid duplications
across multiple documents.
The OVAL Definitions document consists of a set of configuration requirements where each requirement
is defined in the following five basic sections: definitions, tests, objects, states, and variables. The
elements within the definitions section describe which of the tests shall be fulfilled to satisfy the given
definition. The test elements link objects and states together. During the system evaluation, a test is
considered passed when a resource of the assessed system that is denoted by the given object element
corresponds with the given state element. The variables section defines external variables which may be
used to adjust elements from the states section. Besides these sections, the OVAL Definitions document
typically contains also the generator and signature sections. The generator section holds information
about the document origin and various additional information related to its content.
Each element from the OVAL document basic sections is unambiguously identified by an identifier in the
following form:
oval:namespace:type:ID
where namespace is a name space defining the identifier, type is either def for definitions elements, tst
for tests elements, obj for objects element, ste for states elements, and var for variables elements, and
ID is an integer value of the identifier.
Example 7.2. An Example of an OVAL Definitions Document

<oval_definitions
xmlns:lin-def="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5#linux"
xmlns:oval="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-common-5"
xmlns="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<generator>
<oval:product_name>vim</oval:product_name>
<oval:schema_version>5.10.1</oval:schema_version>
<oval:timestamp>2012-11-22T15:00:00+01:00</oval:timestamp>
</generator>
<definitions>
<definition class="inventory"
id="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.rhel:def:7"
version="1">
<metadata>
<title>Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7</title>
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<affected family="unix">
<platform>Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7</platform>
</affected>
<reference ref_id="cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7"
source="CPE"/>
<description>
The operating system installed on the system is Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7
</description>
</metadata>
<criteria>
<criterion comment="Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is installed"
test_ref="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.rhel:tst:7"/>
</criteria>
</definition>
</definitions>
<tests>
<lin-def:rpminfo_test check_existence="at_least_one_exists"
id="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.rhel:tst:7"
version="1"
check="at least one"
comment="redhat-release is version 7">
<lin-def:object object_ref="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.redhat-
release:obj:1"/>
<lin-def:state state_ref="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.rhel:ste:7"/>
</lin-def:rpminfo_test>
</tests>
<objects>
<lin-def:rpmverifyfile_object id="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.redhat-
release:obj:1"
version="1">

<lin-def:behaviors nolinkto='true'
nomd5='true'
nosize='true'
nouser='true'
nogroup='true'
nomtime='true'
nomode='true'
nordev='true'
noconfigfiles='true'
noghostfiles='true' />
<lin-def:name operation="pattern match"/>
<lin-def:epoch operation="pattern match"/>
<lin-def:version operation="pattern match"/>
<lin-def:release operation="pattern match"/>
<lin-def:arch operation="pattern match"/>
<lin-def:filepath>/etc/redhat-release</lin-def:filepath>
</lin-def:rpmverifyfile_object>
</objects>
<states>
<lin-def:rpminfo_state id="oval:org.open-scap.cpe.rhel:ste:7"
version="1">
<lin-def:name operation="pattern match">^redhat-release</lin-
def:name>
208
<lin-def:version operation="pattern match">^7[^\d]</lin-

def:version>
</lin-def:rpminfo_state>
</states>
</oval_definitions>
7.2.3. The Data Stream Format

SCAP data stream is a file format used since SCAP version 1.2 and it represents a bundle of XCCDF,
OVAL, and other component files which can be used to define a compliance policy expressed by an
XCCDF checklist. It also contains an index and catalog that allow splitting the given data stream into files
according to the SCAP components.
The data stream uses XML format that consists of a header formed by a table of contents and a list of the
<ds:component> elements. Each of these elements encompasses an SCAP component such as
XCCDF, OVAL, CPE, and other. The data stream file may contain multiple components of the same
type, and thus covering all security policies needed by your organization.
Example 7.3. An Example of a Data Stream Header
<ds:data-stream-collection
xmlns:ds="http://scap.nist.gov/schema/scap/source/1.2"
xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
xmlns:cat="urn:oasis:names:tc:entity:xmlns:xml:catalog"
id="scap_org.open-scap_collection_from_xccdf_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-
1.2.xml"
schematron-version="1.0">
<ds:data-stream id="scap_org.open-scap_datastream_from_xccdf_ssg-
rhel7-xccdf-1.2.xml"
scap-version="1.2" use-case="OTHER">
<ds:dictionaries>
<ds:component-ref id="scap_org.open-scap_cref_output--ssg-rhel7-
cpe-dictionary.xml"
xlink:href="#scap_org.open-scap_comp_output--ssg-rhel7-cpe-
dictionary.xml">
<cat:catalog>
<cat:uri name="ssg-rhel7-cpe-oval.xml"
uri="#scap_org.open-scap_cref_output--ssg-rhel7-cpe-
oval.xml"/>
</cat:catalog>
</ds:component-ref>
</ds:dictionaries>
<ds:checklists>
<ds:component-ref id="scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-
1.2.xml"
xlink:href="#scap_org.open-scap_comp_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-1.2.xml">
<cat:catalog>
<cat:uri name="ssg-rhel7-oval.xml"
uri="#scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-oval.xml"/>
</cat:catalog>
</ds:component-ref>
</ds:checklists>
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<ds:checks>
<ds:component-ref id="scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-oval.xml"
xlink:href="#scap_org.open-scap_comp_ssg-rhel7-oval.xml"/>
cpe-oval.xml"
xlink:href="#scap_org.open-scap_comp_output--ssg-rhel7-cpe-
oval.xml"/>
oval.xml"
xlink:href="#scap_org.open-scap_comp_output--ssg-rhel7-
oval.xml"/>
</ds:checks>
</ds:data-stream>
<ds:component id="scap_org.open-scap_comp_ssg-rhel7-oval.xml"
timestamp="2014-03-14T16:21:59">
<oval_definitions xmlns="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-
definitions-5"
xmlns:oval="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-common-5"
xmlns:ind="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5#independent"
xmlns:unix="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5#unix"
xmlns:linux="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5#linux"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-common-5
oval-common-schema.xsd
http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5
oval-definitions-schema.xsd
http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-
5#independent
independent-definitions-schema.xsd
http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5#unix
unix-definitions-schema.xsd
http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5#linux
linux-definitions-schema.xsd">
7.3. USING SCAP WORKBENCH

SCAP Workbench (scap-workbench) is a graphical utility that enables users to perform configuration
and vulnerability scans on a single local or a remote system, perform remediation of the system, and
generate reports based on scan evaluations. Note that compared with the oscap command-line utility,
SCAP Workbench has only limited functionality. SCAP Workbench can also process only security
content in the form of XCCDF and data-stream files.
The following sections explain how to install, start, and utilize SCAP Workbench to perform system
scans, remediation, scan customization, and display relevant examples for these tasks.
7.3.1. Installing SCAP Workbench

To install SCAP Workbench on your system, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install scap-workbench
210
This command installs all packages required by SCAP Workbench to function properly, including the
scap-workbench package that provides the utility itself. Note that required dependencies, such as the qt
and openssh packages, are automatically updated to the newest available version if the packages are
already installed on your system.
SCAP Workbench needs a security content to operate. Red Hat recommends to use the SCAP Security
Guide (SSG). The scap-security-guide package is installed as a SCAP Workbench dependency and it is
located in the /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ directory.
To find other possible sources of existing SCAP content that might suit your needs, see Section 7.10,
“Additional Resources”.
7.3.2. Running SCAP Workbench

For running SCAP Workbench from the GNOME Classic desktop environment, press the Super key to
enter the Activities Overview, type scap-workbench, and then press Enter. The Super key
appears in a variety of guises, depending on the keyboard and other hardware, but often as either the
Windows or Command key, and typically to the left of the Spacebar key.
Figure 7.1. Open SCAP Security Guide Window
As soon as you start the utility, the Open SCAP Security Guide window appears. After a selection
one of the guides, the SCAP Workbench window appears. This window consists of several interactive
components, which you should become familiar with before you start scanning your system:
File
This menu list offers several options to load or save a SCAP-related content. To show the initial Open
SCAP Security Guide window, click the menu item with the same name. Alternatively, load
another customization file in the XCCDF format by clicking Open Other Content. To save your
customization as an XCCDF XML file, use the Save Customization Only item. The Save All
allows you to save SCAP files either to the selected directory or as an RPM package.
Customization
This combo box informs you about the customization used for the given security policy. You can
select custom rules that are applied for the system evaluation by clicking this combo box. The default
value is (no customization), which means that there are no changes to the used security policy.
If you make any changes to the selected security profile, you can save those changes as an XML file
by clicking the Save Customization Only item in the File menu.
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Security Guide
Profile
This combo box contains the name of the selected security profile. You can select the security profile
from a given XCCDF or data-stream file by clicking this combo box. To create a new profile that
inherits properties of the selected security profile, click the Customize button.
Target
The two radio buttons enable you to select whether the system to be evaluated is a local or remote
machine.
Rules
This field displays a list of security rules that are subject of the security policy. Expanding a particular
security rule provides detailed information about that rule.
Status bar
This is a graphical bar that indicates status of an operation that is being performed.
Generate remediation role

This pop-up menu enables you to export profile-based remediations to a file. This file contains all
available fixes for all rules in the currently selected profile. You can choose the output as a Bash
script, an Ansible playbook, or a Puppet manifest. A remediation performed during a system
evaluation is based on bash remediations.
This feature enables you to examine individual remediations and possibly edit or cherry-pick them.
Therefore, it puts you in full control over the remediation process.
Dry run
Use this check box to get command line arguments to the diagnostics window instead of running the
scan.
Fetch remote resources

This check box allows to instruct the scanner to download a remote OVAL content defined in an XML
file.
Remediate
This check box enables the remediation feature during the system evaluation. If you check this box,
SCAP Workbench attempts to correct system settings that failed to match the state defined by the
policy.
Scan
This button enables you to start the evaluation of the specified system.
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Figure 7.2. SCAP Workbench Window
7.3.3. Scanning the System

The main functionality of SCAP Workbench is to perform security scans on a selected system in
accordance with the given XCCDF or data stream file. To evaluate your system against the selected
security policy, follow these steps:
1. Select a security policy by using either the Open SCAP Security Guide window, or Open
Other Content in the File menu and search the respective XCCDF, SCAP RPM or data
stream file.

WARNING
Selecting a security policy results in the loss of any previous customization

changes that were not saved. To re-apply the lost options, you have to
choose the available profile and customization content again. Note that your
previous customizations may not be applicable with the new security policy.
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Security Guide
2. To use a pre-arranged a file with customized security content specific to your use case, you can
load this file by clicking on the Customization combo box. You can also create a custom
tailoring file by altering an available security profile. For more information, see Section 7.3.4,
“Customizing Security Profiles”.
a. Select the (no customization) option if you do not want to use any customization for
the current system evaluation. This is the default option if no previous customization was
selected.
b. Select the (open customization file...) option to search for the particular tailoring
file to be used for the current system evaluation.
c. If you have previously used some customization file, SCAP Workbench remembers this file
and adds it to the list. This simplifies the repetitive application of the same scan.
3. Select a suitable security profile by clicking the Profile combo box.
a. To modify the selected profile, click the Customize button. For more information about
profile customization, see Section 7.3.4, “Customizing Security Profiles”.
4. Select either of two Target radio buttons to scan either a local or a remote machine.
a. If you have selected a remote system, specify it by entering the user name, host name, and
the port information as shown in the following example. If you have previously used the
remote scan, you can also select a remote system from a list of recently scanned machines.
Figure 7.3. Specifying a Remote System
5. You can allow automatic correction of the system configuration by selecting the Remediate
check box. With this option enabled, SCAP Workbench attempts to change the system
configuration in accordance with the security rules applied by the policy, should the related
checks fail during the system scan.

WARNING
If not used carefully, running the system evaluation with the remediation
option enabled could render the system non-functional.
6. Click the Scan button to initiate the system scan.
7.3.4. Customizing Security Profiles

After selecting the security profile that suits your security policy, you can further adjust it by clicking the
Customize button. This opens the new Customization window that enables you to modify the currently
selected XCCDF profile without actually changing the respective XCCDF file.
214
Figure 7.4. Customizing the Selected Security Profile
The Customization window contains a complete set of XCCDF elements relevant to the selected
security profile with detailed information about each element and its functionality. You can enable or
disable these elements by selecting or de-selecting the respective check boxes in the main field of this
window. The Customization window also supports undo and redo functionality; you can undo or redo
your selections by clicking the respective arrow icon in the top left corner of the window.
You can also change variables that will later be used for evaluation. Find the appropriate item in the
Customization window, navigate to the right part and use the Modify value field.
Figure 7.5. Setting a value for the selected item in the Customization window
After you have finished your profile customizations, confirm the changes by clicking the Confirm
Customization button. Your changes are now in the memory and do not persist if SCAP Workbench
is closed or certain changes, such as selecting a new SCAP content or choosing another customization
option, are made. To store your changes, click the Save Customization button in the SCAP
Workbench window. This action allows you to save your changes to the security profile as an XCCDF
customization file in the chosen directory. Note that this customization file can be further selected with
other profiles.
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Security Guide
7.3.5. Saving SCAP Content

SCAP Workbench also allows you to save SCAP content that is used with your system evaluations.
You can either save a customization file separately (see Section 7.3.4, “Customizing Security Profiles”)
or you can save all security content at once by clicking the Save content combo box and selecting
either the Save into a directory or Save as RPM options.
By selecting the Save into a directory option, SCAP Workbench saves both the XCCDF or data-
stream file and the customization file to the specified location. This can be useful as a backup solution.
By selecting the Save as RPM option, you can instruct SCAP Workbench to create an RPM package
containing the XCCDF or data stream file and customization file. This is useful for distributing the security
content to systems that cannot be scanned remotely, or just for delivering the content for further
processing.
Figure 7.6. Saving the Current SCAP Content as an RPM Package
7.3.6. Viewing Scan Results and Generating Scan Reports and Remediations
After the system scan is finished, three new buttons, Clear, Save Results, Generate
remediation role, and Show Report will appear instead of the Scan button.
216

WARNING
Clicking the Clear button permanently removes the scan results.
To store the scan results in the form of an XCCDF, ARF, or HTML file, click the Save Results combo
box. Choose the HTML Report option to generate the scan report in human-readable form. The XCCDF
and ARF (data stream) formats are suitable for further automatic processing. You can repeatedly choose
all three options.
If you prefer to view the scan results immediately without saving them, click the Show Report button,
which opens the scan results in the form of a temporary HTML file in your default web browser.
You can use the Generate remediation role pop-up menu to export results-based remediations to
a file. This functionality is very similar to the profile-based remediation role export — the difference is that
remediations for rules that pass the system evaluation are not exported, so the file may be smaller.

WARNING
Results-based remediation is not supported for tailored profiles. If you need to export
those, you can use the oscap command-line utility.
7.4. USING OSCAP

The oscap command-line utility enables users to scan local systems, validate security compliance
content, and generate reports and guides based on these scans and evaluations. This utility serves as a
front end to the OpenSCAP library and groups its functionalities to modules (sub-commands) based on
the type of SCAP content it processes.
The following sections explain how to install oscap and perform the most common operations. Examples
are provided to illustrate these tasks. To learn more about specific sub-commands, use the --help
option with an oscap command:
oscap [options] module module_operation

[module_operation_options_and_arguments] --help
where module represents the type of SCAP content that is being processed, and module_operation is a
sub-command for the specific operation on the SCAP content.
Example 7.4. Getting Help on a Specific oscap Operation
~]$ oscap ds sds-split --help

oscap -> ds -> sds-split
Split given SourceDataStream into separate files
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Security Guide
Usage: oscap [options] ds sds-split [options] SDS TARGET_DIRECTORY
SDS - Source data stream that will be split into multiple files.
TARGET_DIRECTORY - Directory of the resulting files.
Options:
--datastream-id <id> - ID of the datastream in the
collection to use.
--xccdf-id <id> - ID of XCCDF in the datastream that
should be evaluated.
To learn about all oscap features and the complete list of its options, see the oscap(8) manual page.
7.4.1. Installing oscap

To install oscap to your system, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install openscap-scanner
This command enables you to install all packages required by oscap to function properly, including the
openscap package. To be able to write your own security content, you should also install the openscap-
engine-sce package, which provides the Script Check Engine (SCE). The SCE is an extension of the
SCAP protocol that allows content authors to write their security content using a scripting language, such
as Bash, Python, or Ruby. Note that the openscap-engine-sce package is only available from the
Optional channel. See Enabling Supplementary and Optional Repositories.
Optionally, after installing oscap, you can check the capabilities of your version of oscap, what
specifications it supports, where the certain oscap files are stored, what kinds of SCAP objects you can
use, and other useful information. To display this information, type the following command:
~]$ oscap -V
OpenSCAP command line tool (oscap) 1.0.4
Copyright 2009--2014 Red Hat Inc., Durham, North Carolina.
==== Supported specifications ====

XCCDF Version: 1.2
OVAL Version: 5.10.1
CPE Version: 2.3
CVSS Version: 2.0
CVE Version: 2.0
Asset Identification Version: 1.1
Asset Reporting Format Version: 1.1
==== Capabilities added by auto-loaded plugins ====

SCE Version: 1.0 (from libopenscap_sce.so.8)
==== Paths ====

Schema files: /usr/share/openscap/schemas
Schematron files: /usr/share/openscap/xsl
Default CPE files: /usr/share/openscap/cpe
Probes: /usr/libexec/openscap
==== Inbuilt CPE names ====

Red Hat Enterprise Linux - cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux
218
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 - cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:5

Fedora 16 - cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:16
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Optional Productivity Applications -
cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_productivity
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Optional Productivity Applications 5 -
cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_productivity:5
==== Supported OVAL objects and associated OpenSCAP probes ====

system_info probe_system_info
family probe_family
filehash probe_filehash
environmentvariable probe_environmentvariable
textfilecontent54 probe_textfilecontent54
textfilecontent probe_textfilecontent
variable probe_variable
xmlfilecontent probe_xmlfilecontent
environmentvariable58 probe_environmentvariable58
filehash58 probe_filehash58
inetlisteningservers probe_inetlisteningservers
rpminfo probe_rpminfo
partition probe_partition
iflisteners probe_iflisteners
rpmverify probe_rpmverify
rpmverifyfile probe_rpmverifyfile
rpmverifypackage probe_rpmverifypackage
selinuxboolean probe_selinuxboolean
selinuxsecuritycontext probe_selinuxsecuritycontext
file probe_file
interface probe_interface
password probe_password
process probe_process
runlevel probe_runlevel
shadow probe_shadow
uname probe_uname
xinetd probe_xinetd
sysctl probe_sysctl
process58 probe_process58
fileextendedattribute probe_fileextendedattribute
routingtable probe_routingtable
Before you can start using oscap effectively, you also need to install or import some security content on
your system. For example, you can install the SCAP Security Guide (SSG) package, scap-security-
guide, which contains the currently most evolved and elaborate set of security polices for Linux systems.
To install the SCAP Security Guide package on your system, enter the following command as root:
~]# yum install scap-security-guide
After you install scap-security-guide on your system, unless specified otherwise, the SSG security
content is available under the /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ directory, and you can
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Security Guide
proceed with other security compliance operations.
To find other possible sources of existing SCAP content that might suit your needs, see Section 7.10,
“Additional Resources”.
After installing the SCAP content on your system, oscap can process the content when supplied with the
file path to the content. The oscap utility supports SCAP version 1.2 and is backward-compatible with
SCAP versions 1.1 and 1.0, so it can process earlier versions of SCAP content without any special
requirements.
7.4.2. Displaying SCAP Content

SCAP standard defines numerous file formats. The oscap utility can process or create files conforming
to many of the formats. In order to further process the given file with SCAP content, you need to
understand how to use oscap with the given file type. If you are unsure how to use a particular file, you
can either open and read the file, or you can use the info module of oscap which parses the file and
extracts relevant information in human-readable format.
enter the following command to examine the internal structure of a SCAP document and display useful
information such as the document type, specification version, a status of the document, the date the
document was published, and the date the document was copied to a file system:
oscap info file
where file is the full path to the security content file being examined. The following example better
illustrates the usage of the oscap info command:
Example 7.5. Displaying Information About SCAP Content
~]$ oscap info /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml

Document type: Source Data Stream
Imported: 2014-03-14T12:22:01
Stream: scap_org.open-scap_datastream_from_xccdf_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-1.2.xml
Generated: (null)
Version: 1.2
Checklists:
Ref-Id: scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-1.2.xml
Profiles:
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_test
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_common
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-
rhel7-server-upstream
Referenced check files:
ssg-rhel7-oval.xml
system:
http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5
Checks:
Ref-Id: scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-oval.xml
Ref-Id: scap_org.open-scap_cref_output--ssg-rhel7-cpe-oval.xml
Ref-Id: scap_org.open-scap_cref_output--ssg-rhel7-oval.xml
Dictionaries:
Ref-Id: scap_org.open-scap_cref_output--ssg-rhel7-cpe-
dictionary.xml
220
7.4.3. Scanning the System

The most important functionality of oscap is to perform configuration and vulnerability scans of a local
system. The following is a general syntax of the respective command:
oscap [options] module eval [module_operation_options_and_arguments]
The oscap utility can scan systems against the SCAP content represented by both an XCCDF (The
eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format) benchmark and OVAL (Open Vulnerability and
Assessment Language) definitions. The security policy can be in the form of a single OVAL or XCCDF
file or multiple separate XML files where each file represents a different component (XCCDF, OVAL,
CPE, CVE, and others). The result of a scan can be printed to both standard output and an XML file. The
result file can then be further processed by oscap in order to generate a report in a human-readable
format. The following examples illustrate the most common usage of the command.
Example 7.6. Scanning the System Using the SSG OVAL definitions
To scan your system against the SSG OVAL definition file while evaluating all definitions, enter the
following command:
~]$ oscap oval eval --results scan-oval-results.xml

/usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
The results of the scan are stored as the scan-oval-results.xml file in the current directory.
Example 7.7. Scanning the System Using the SSG OVAL definitions
To evaluate a particular OVAL definition from the security policy represented by the SSG data stream
file, enter the following command:
~]$ oscap oval eval --id oval:ssg:def:100 --results scan-oval-

results.xml /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
The results of the scan are stored as the scan-oval-results.xml file in the current directory.
Example 7.8. Scanning the System Using the SSG XCCDF benchmark
To perform the SSG XCCDF benchmark for the

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp profile on your system, enter the
following command:
~]$ oscap xccdf eval --profile xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-

ccp --results scan-xccdf-results.xml
The results of the scan are stored as the scan-xccdf-results.xml file in the current directory.
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NOTE
The --profile command-line argument selects the security profile from the given
XCCDF or data stream file. The list of available profiles can be obtained by running the
oscap info command. If the --profile command-line argument is omitted the
default XCCDF profile is used as required by SCAP standard. Note that the default
XCCDF profile may or may not be an appropriate security policy.
7.4.4. Generating Reports and Guides

Another useful features of oscap is the ability to generate SCAP content in a human-readable format.
The oscap utility allows you to transform an XML file into the HTML or plain-text format. This feature is
used to generate security guides and checklists, which serve as a source of information, as well as
guidance for secure system configuration. The results of system scans can also be transformed to well-
readable result reports. The general command syntax is the following:
oscap module generate sub-module [specific_module/sub-

module_options_and_arguments] file
where module is either xccdf or oval, sub-module is a type of the generated document, and file
represents an XCCDF or OVAL file.
The following are the most common examples of the command usage:
Example 7.9. Generating a Guide with a Checklist
To produce an SSG guide with a checklist for the

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp profile, enter the following command:
~]$ oscap xccdf generate guide --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp
/usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml > ssg-guide-
checklist.html
The guide is stored as the ssg-guide-checklist.html file in the current directory.
Example 7.10. Transforming an SSG OVAL Scan Result into a Report
To transform a result of an SSG OVAL scan into an HTML file, enter the following command:
~]$ oscap oval generate report scan-oval-results.xml > ssg-scan-oval-

report.html
The result report is stored as the ssg-scan-oval-report.html file in the current directory. This
example assumes that you run the command from the same location where the scan-oval-
results.xml file is stored. Otherwise you need to specify the fully-qualified path of the file that
contains the scan results.
Example 7.11. Transforming an SSG XCCDF Scan Result into a Report
222
To transform a result of an SSG XCCDF scan into an HTML file, enter the following command:
~]$ oscap xccdf generate report scan-xccdf-results.xml > scan-xccdf-

report.html
The result report is stored as the ssg-scan-xccdf-report.html file in the current directory.
Alternatively, you can generate this report in the time of the scan using the --report command-line
argument:

ccp --results scan-xccdf-results.xml --report scan-xccdf-report.html
7.4.5. Validating SCAP Content

Before you start using a security policy on your systems, you should first verify the policy in order to avoid
any possible syntax or semantic errors in the policy. The oscap utility can be used to validate the
security content against standard SCAP XML schemas. The validation results are printed to the standard
error stream (stderr). The general syntax of such a validation command is the following:
oscap module validate [module_options_and_arguments] file
where file is the full path to the file being validated. The only exception is the data stream module (ds),
which uses the sds-validate operation instead of validate. Note that all SCAP components within
the given data stream are validated automatically and none of the components is specified separately, as
can be seen in the following example:
~]$ oscap ds sds-validate /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
With certain SCAP content, such as OVAL specification, you can also perform a Schematron validation.
The Schematron validation is slower than the standard validation but provides deeper analysis, and is
thus able to detect more errors. The following SSG example shows typical usage of the command:
~]$ oscap oval validate --schematron /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-

rhel7-ds.xml
7.4.6. Using OpenSCAP to Remediate the System

OpenSCAP allows to automatically remediate systems that have been found in a non-compliant state.
For system remediation, an XCCDF file with instructions is required. The scap-security-guide package
constains certain remediation instructions.
System remediation consists of the following steps:
1. OpenSCAP performs a regular XCCDF evaluation.
2. An assessment of the results is performed by evaluating the OVAL definitions. Each rule that has
failed is marked as a candidate for remediation.
3. OpenSCAP searches for an appropriate fix element, resolves it, prepares the environment, and
executes the fix script.
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4. Any output of the fix script is captured by OpenSCAP and stored within the rule-result
element. The return value of the fix script is stored as well.
5. Whenever OpenSCAP executes a fix script, it immediatelly evaluates the OVAL definition again
(to verify that the fix script has been applied correctly). During this second run, if the OVAL
evaluation returns success, the result of the rule is fixed, otherwise it is an error.
6. Detailed results of the remediation are stored in an output XCCDF file. It contains two
TestResult elements. The first TestResult element represents the scan prior to the
remediation. The second TestResult is derived from the first one and contains remediation
results.
There are three modes of operation of OpenSCAP with regard to remediation: online, offline, and review.
7.4.6.1. OpenSCAP Online Remediation
Online remediation executes fix elements at the time of scanning. Evaluation and remediation are
performed as a part of a single command.
To enable online remediation, use the --remediate command-line option. For example, to execute
online remediation using the scap-security-guide package, run:
~]$ oscap xccdf eval --remediate --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp --results scan-xccdf-
results.xml /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
The output of this command consists of two sections. The first section shows the result of the scan prior
to the remediation, and the second section shows the result of the scan after applying the remediation.
The second part can contain only fixed and error results. The fixed result indicates that the scan
performed after the remediation passed. The error result indicates that even after applying the
remediation, the evaluation still does not pass.
7.4.6.2. OpenSCAP Offline Remediation
Offline remediation allows you to postpone fix execution. In the first step, the system is only evaluated,
and the results are stored in a TestResult element in an XCCDF file.
In the second step, oscap executes the fix scripts and verifies the result. It is safe to store the results into
the input file, no data will be lost. During offline remediation, OpenSCAP creates a new TestResult
element that is based on the input one and inherits all the data. The newly created TestResult differs
only in the rule-result elements that have failed. For those, remediation is executed.
To perform offline remediation using the scap-security-guide package, run:

ccp --results scan-xccdf-results.xml /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-
rhel7-ds.xml
~]$ oscap xccdf remediate --results scan-xccdf-results.xml scan-xccdf-

results.xml
7.4.6.3. OpenSCAP Remediation Review
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The review mode enables users to store remediation instructions to a file for further review. The
remediation content is not executed during this operation.
To generate remediation instructions in the form of a shell script, run:
~]$ oscap xccdf generate fix --template urn:xccdf:fix:script:sh --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_rht-ccp --output my-remediation-
script.sh /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
7.4.7. Exporting XCCDF Results for the DISA STIG Viewer

The DISA STIG Viewer enables users to view results from the perspective of DISA rule IDs. This utility
expects the DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency) STIG (Security Technical Implementation
Guide) identifiers, for example, SV-86551r1_rule, to be used as rule IDs. In most of the publicly-available
SCAP content, the convention is to have the DISA STIG IDs attached to XCCDF rules as references or
identifiers. Therefore, XCCDF results produced by OpenSCAP and SCAP Security Guide are not
readable when opened in DISA STIG Viewer.
OpenSCAP enables you to output your XCCDF results to a format that is compatible with DISA STIG
Viewer. The transformation takes the attached STIG rule ID reference and replaces the XCCDF rule ID
with it.
Example 7.12. Scanning a System for DISA STIG Compliance and Producing Results for STIG
Viewer
To scan a local system for DISA STIG compliance and produce XCCDF results that can be opened
in DISA STIG Viewer:
$ oscap xccdf eval --profile xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-

rhel7-disa --stig-viewer stig-results.xml
To view the XCCDF Results in DISA STIG Viewer, import the STIG of your choice first, and create a
checklist. With the checklist created, use the Import → XCCDF Result File menu item to fit your
results.
NOTE
Note that you can use any of the other oscap options with the --stig-viewer option to
export results with the usual rule IDs.
For more information about STIG Viewing, see the IASE STIG Viewing Guidance web page.
7.5. USING OPENSCAP WITH DOCKER

The oscap-docker command-line utility enables users to use the oscap program to scan their docker-
formatted coptisn ntainer images and containers.
The following section:
explains the installation of oscap-docker
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offers basic examples of usage
To learn more about sub-commands, use the --help option with the oscap-docker or oscap
commands.
NOTE
Because a container file system is influenced by mount points, results of scanning an

image might differ from results of scanning a container created from it. For example, a
mount point that provides only data for processes inside the container in a custom path
does not affect results of a scan. However, a mount point in a container done to paths,
such as /bin, /etc, or /var, providing new binaries or configuration files can cause
differences in results of scanning.
To enable the scanning of images and containers, install the docker package. See the Getting Docker in
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 chapter of the Getting Started with Containers guide for instructions on
installing Docker.
Enter the following command to install oscap-docker:
# yum install openscap-utils
The following examples use the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 image.
# docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7
# docker images
REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7 latest c453594215e4
7.5.1. Scanning Docker-formatted Images and Containers for Vulnerabilities

The oscap-docker command provides two ways to scan images and containers for vulnerabilities:
The image-cve or container-cve sub-commands determine the version of the operating

system, download the CVE stream applicable to the given system, and run a vulnerability scan:
# oscap-docker image-cve registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7
Another, more flexible way, enables you to specify OVAL definitions when checking for
vulnerabilities. Use the image or container sub-command together with oscap arguments for
an OVAL evaluation. For example, to scan an image using a definitions file downloaded from
Red Hat OVAL repository, use the following command:
# oscap-docker image registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7 oval eval

com.redhat.rhsa-all.xml
7.5.2. Scanning Configuration Compliance of Docker-formatted Images and

Containers
226
To scan for configuration compliance, use the SCAP content provided by the SCAP Security Guide
(SSG). Ensure the scap-security-guide package is installed:
# yum install scap-security-guide
To verify compliance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 image with the Defense Information Systems Agency
Security Technical Implementation Guide (DISA STIG) policy, enter the following command:
# oscap-docker image registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7 xccdf eval --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-disa
The following command scans the running environment of the container with ID 5ef05eef4a01:
# oscap-docker container 5ef05eef4a01 xccdf eval --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-disa
To get an XML file with results, use the --results argument and for generating an HTML report of an
evaluation, add the --report argument. See the oscap(8) man page for more information.
7.6. USING OPENSCAP WITH THE ATOMIC SCAN COMMAND

The atomic scan command enables users to use OpenSCAP scanning capabilities to scan docker-
formatted container images and containers on the system. It is possible to scan for known CVE
vulnerabilities or for configuration compliance. Additionaly, users can remediate docker-formatted
container images to the specified policy.
atomic scan and OpenSCAP Scanner Image

To install the atomic tool for container management, enter the following command:
# yum install atomic
For more information the atomic installation, see the Prerequisites in the Atomic CLI Reference.
After the atomic tool is installed, you also need a scanner, which is used by the atomic scan
command as a back end for scanning images and containers. Red Hat recommends choosing the
OpenSCAP scanner bundled in the rhel7/openscap container image in the registry.access.redhat.com
image registry:
# atomic install registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap
The registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap container image is used as the default scanner by the

atomic scan command. It currently supports two scan types targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux
systems. To list supported scan types, enter the following command:
# atomic scan --scanner openscap --list
7.6.1. Scanning Docker-formatted Images and Containers for Vulnerabilities Using

atomic scan
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To scan the containers and container images, use the atomic scan command in the following form:
# atomic scan [OPTIONS] [ID]
where ID is the ID of the container image or container. To scan all container images or containers, use
the --images or --containers directive, respectively. To scan both types, use the --all directive.
The list of available command-line options can be obtained using the atomic scan --help command.
NOTE
For a detailed description of the atomic command usage and containers, see the
Product Documentation for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Atomic Host. The Red Hat
Customer Portal also provides a guide to the Atomic command line interface (CLI).
The default scan type of the atomic scan command is CVE scan. Use it for checking a target for
known security vulnerabilities as defined in the CVE OVAL definitions released by Red Hat.

WARNING
The OVAL definitions used by the CVE scan type are bundled in the container
image during the build process. Red Hat provides weekly updates of the container
image. Always use the latest OpenSCAP container image to ensure the definitions
are up to date. To find out version of the installed OpenSCAP container image:
# atomic help registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap |

grep version
Example 7.13. Scanning Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Container Images for Known Security
Vulnerabilities
The following command scans the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 container image for known security
vulnerabilities. The --verbose directive provides additional details.
# atomic scan --verbose registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest

docker run -t --rm -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime -v /run/atomic/2017-
11-01-14-55-37-758180:/scanin -v /var/lib/atomic/openscap/2017-11-01-14-
55-37-758180:/scanout:rw,Z -v /etc/oscapd:/etc/oscapd:ro
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap oscapd-evaluate scan --no-
standard-compliance --targets chroots-in-dir:///scanin --output /scanout
WARNING:Can't import the 'docker' package. Container scanning
functionality will be disabled.
INFO:Creating tasks directory at '/var/lib/oscapd/tasks' because it
didn't exist.
INFO:Creating results directory at '/var/lib/oscapd/results' because it
didn't exist.
INFO:Creating results work in progress directory at
'/var/lib/oscapd/work_in_progress' because it didn't exist.
INFO:Evaluated EvaluationSpec, exit_code=0.
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INFO:Evaluated EvaluationSpec, exit_code=0.

INFO:[100.00%] Scanned target
'chroot:///scanin/db7a70a0414e589d7c8c162712b329d4fc670fa47ddde721250fb9
fcdbed9cc2'
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest (db7a70a0414e589)
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest passed the scan
Files associated with this scan are in /var/lib/atomic/openscap/2017-11-

01-14-55-37-758180.
The following command scans the Red Enterprise Linux 7.2 container image with several known
security vulnerabilities:
#atomic scan registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:7.2

docker run -t --rm -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime -v /run/atomic/2017-
11-01-14-49-36-614281:/scanin -v /var/lib/atomic/openscap/2017-11-01-14-
49-36-614281:/scanout:rw,Z -v /etc/oscapd:/etc/oscapd:ro
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap oscapd-evaluate scan --no-
standard-compliance --targets chroots-in-dir:///scanin --output /scanout
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:7.2 (98a88a8b722a718)
The following issues were found:
RHSA-2017:2832: nss security update (Important)

Severity: Important
RHSA URL: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2832
RHSA ID: RHSA-2017:2832-01
Associated CVEs:
CVE ID: CVE-2017-7805
CVE URL: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-
7805
RHSA-2017:2016: curl security, bug fix, and enhancement update

(Moderate)
Severity: Moderate
RHSA ID: RHSA-2017:2016-01
Associated CVEs:
CVE ID: CVE-2016-7167
7167
RHSA-2017:1931: bash security and bug fix update (Moderate)

Severity: Moderate
RHSA ID: RHSA-2017:1931-01
Associated CVEs:
CVE ID: CVE-2016-0634
0634
CVE ID: CVE-2016-7543
7543
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CVE ID: CVE-2016-9401

9401
............

01-14-49-36-614281.
7.6.2. Scanning and Remediating Configuration Compliance of Docker-formatted

Images and Containers Using atomic scan
Scanning for Configuration Compliance of Docker-formatted Images and Containers

Using atomic scan
The atomic scan command also supports the configuration_compliance scan. Use this type of
scanning to evaluate Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based container images and containers with the SCAP
content provided by the SCAP Security Guide (SSG) bundled inside the OpenSCAP container image.
This enables scanning against any profile provided by the SCAP Security Guide.
To list the SCAP content provided by the OpenSCAP image for the configuration_compliance scan,
# atomic help registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7/openscap
To verify compliance of the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 container image with the Defense
Information Systems Agency Security Technical Implementation Guide (DISA STIG) policy and generate
an HTML report from the scan:
#atomic scan --scan_type configuration_compliance --scanner_args xccdf-

id=scap_org.open-scap_cref_ssg-rhel7-xccdf-
1.2.xml,profile=xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-
disa,report registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest
The output of the previous command contains the information about files associated with the scan at the
end:
............

03-13-35-34-296606.
# tree /var/lib/atomic/openscap/2017-11-03-13-35-34-296606
/var/lib/atomic/openscap/2017-11-03-13-35-34-296606
├── db7a70a0414e589d7c8c162712b329d4fc670fa47ddde721250fb9fcdbed9cc2
│ ├── arf.xml
│ ├── fix.sh
│ ├── json
│ └── report.html
└── environment.json
1 directory, 5 files
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The atomic scan generates a subdirectory with all the results and reports from a scan in the
/var/lib/atomic/openscap/ directory. The arf.xml file with results is generated on every scanning for
configuration compliance. To generate a human-readable HTML report file, add the report suboption to
the --scanner_args option.
To generate XCCDF results readable by DISA STIG Viewer, add the stig-viewer suboption to the --
scanner_args option. The results are placed in stig.xml. For more information about DISA STIG
Viewer, see Section 7.4.7, “Exporting XCCDF Results for the DISA STIG Viewer”
The --scanner_args suboptions are separated by the comma character. The specific values for the
xccdf-id and profile suboptions, which select an XCCDF component and a profile from the
specified datastream file, are taken from the bundled SCAP content in the OpenSCAP image. The
datastream file is selected automatically by the OpenSCAP image during scanning based on the target
container image or container.
NOTE
When the xccdf-id suboption of the --scanner_args option is omitted, the scanner
searches for a profile in the first XCCDF component of the selected datastream file. For
more details about datastream files, see Section 7.2.3, “The Data Stream Format”.
Remediating Configuration Compliance of Docker-formatted Images and Containers

Using atomic scan
To remediate docker-formatted container images to the specified policy, add the --remediate option to
the atomic scan command when scanning for configuration compliance. The following command
builds a new remediated container image compliant with the DISA STIG policy from the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 container image:
# atomic scan --remediate --scan_type configuration_compliance --

scanner_args profile=xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-
disa,report registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest
registry.access.redhat.com/rhel7:latest (db7a70a0414e589)
The following issues were found:

............
Configure Time Service Maxpoll Interval
Severity: Low
XCCDF result: fail
Configure LDAP Client to Use TLS For All Transactions

Severity: Moderate
XCCDF result: fail
............
Remediating rule 43/44:
'xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_chronyd_or_ntpd_set_maxpoll'
Remediating rule 44/44:
'xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_ldap_client_start_tls'
Successfully built 9bbc7083760e

Successfully built remediated image 9bbc7083760e from
db7a70a0414e589d7c8c162712b329d4fc670fa47ddde721250fb9fcdbed9cc2.
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06-13-01-42-785000.
The configuration compliance scan is run against the original container image to check its compliance
with the DISA STIG policy. Based on the scan results, a fix script containing bash remediations for the
failed scan results is generated. The fix script is then applied to the original container image - this is
called a remediation. The remediation results in a container image with an altered configuration, which is
added as a new layer on top of the original container image. The output of the atomic scan command
reports a remediated image ID. To make the image easier to remember, tag it with some name, for
example:
#docker tag 9bbc7083760e rhel7_disa_stig
IMPORTANT
Note that the original container image remains unchanged and only a new layer is created
on top of it. The remediation process builds a new container image that contains all the
configuration improvements. The content of this layer is defined by the security policy of
scanning - in the previous case, the DISA STIG policy. This also means that the
remediated container image is no longer signed by Red Hat, which is expected, since it
differs from the original container image by containing the remediated layer.
7.7. USING OPENSCAP WITH ANSIBLE

To assist with integrating configuration compliance into your existing Ansible workflow, OpenSCAP
generates remediations for use with Ansible. The remediations are generated in a form of Ansible
playbooks, either based on profiles or based on scan results.
A playbook based on a SCAP Security Guide (SSG) profile contains fixes for all rules, and the system is
remediated according to the profile regardless of the state of the machine. On the other hand, playbooks
based on scan results contain only fixes for rules that failed during an evaluation.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, SSG provides pre-built Ansible playbooks for each profile and Red Hat
product. The playbooks are stored in the /usr/share/scap-security-guide/ansible/ directory.
To generate an Ansible playbook based on a profile (for example, the DISA STIG profile for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7), enter the following command:
$ oscap xccdf generate fix --fix-type ansible --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-disa --output stig-rhel7-
role.yml /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
To generate an Ansible playbook based on the results of a scan, enter the following command:
$ oscap xccdf generate fix --fix-type ansible --result-id xccdf_org.open-

scap_testresult_xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_stig-rhel7-disa --
output stig-playbook-result.yml results.xml
where the results.xml file contains results of the scan obtained when scanning with the --results
option and the result-id option contains an ID of the TestResult component in the file with results.
To obtain the ID of the TestResult component, use the oscap info command on the results.xml
file:
232
$ oscap info results.xml | grep "Result ID"
To apply the Ansible playbook, enter the following command:
$ ansible-playbook playbook.yml
Note that the ansible-playbook command is provided by the ansible package. See the ansible-
playbook(1) man page and the Ansible Tower User Guide for more information.
Filtering Tasks
Tasks contained in playbooks are tagged with the same metadata as rules in an Extensible
Configuration Checklist Description Format (XCCDF) file. These tags refer to rule ID, strategy,
complexity, disruption, and references, and they can be used to filter the tasks to apply.
For example, to remediate only the rules from the PCI-DSS policy requirement 6.2, enter the following
command:
$ ansible-playbook --tags=PCI-DSS-Req-6.2 /usr/share/scap-security-

guide/ansible/ssg-rhel7-role-pci-dss.yml
To remediate only high-severity rules from the RHEL7 OSPP playbook that are not highly disruptive,
$ ansible-playbook --tags=high_severity --skip-tags=high_disruption

/usr/share/scap-security-guide/ansible/ssg-rhel7-role-ospp-rhel7.yml
Customizing Playbooks
You can choose between two approaches to customize your playbooks. The first is to generate
playbooks from already customized profiles. This approach is better if a customization changes selected
rules.
The second approach is just to change the variables in a playbook. This is the Ansible way to customize
a playbook.
To generate Ansible playbooks for tailored profiles, use the --profile option to specify an ID of a
customized profile, and use the --tailoring-file option to indicate where a tailoring file is located.
These arguments are the same as when performing a scan using a tailored profile, for example:
$ oscap xccdf generate fix--fix-type ansible --profile

xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_common_customized --tailoring-file
ssg-rhel7-ds-tailoring.xml --output tailored-playbook.yml
To customize variables, use a text editor to edit a playbook. All used variables are listed at the beginning
of a playbook, located after the vars: string.
7.8. USING OPENSCAP WITH RED HAT SATELLITE

When running multiple Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, it is important to keep all your systems
compliant with your security policy and perform security scans and evaluations remotely from one
location. On Red Hat Satellite 6, the OpenSCAP plug-in and content provides the compliance and
vulnerability scanning.
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This solution supports two methods of performing security compliance scans, viewing and further
processing of the scan results. You can either use the OpenSCAP Satellite Web Interface or the
Satellite API. For more information about this solution to security compliance, its requirements and
capabilities, see the following Red Hat Satellite 6 documentation:
Security Compliance Management in the Administering Red Hat Satellite Guide.
Importing the Red Hat OVAL Repository in the Content Management Guide.
On Red Hat Satellite 5.5, install the spacewalk-oscap package on your Satellite client. See OpenSCAP
in RHN Satellite in the RHN Satellite 5.5 User Guide for more information.
7.9. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

This section demonstrates practical usage of certain security content provided for Red Hat products.
7.9.1. Auditing Security Vulnerabilities of Red Hat Products

Red Hat continuously provides OVAL definitions for their products. These definitions allow for fully
automated audit of vulnerabilities in the installed software. To find out more information about this
project, see http://www.redhat.com/security/data/metrics/. To download these definitions, enter the
following command:
~]$ wget http://www.redhat.com/security/data/oval/com.redhat.rhsa-all.xml
The users of Red Hat Satellite 5 may find useful the XCCDF part of the patch definitions. To download
these definitions, enter the following command:
~]$ wget http://www.redhat.com/security/data/metrics/com.redhat.rhsa-

all.xccdf.xml
To audit security vulnerabilities for the software installed on the system, enter the following command:
~]$ oscap oval eval --results rhsa-results-oval.xml --report oval-

report.html com.redhat.rhsa-all.xml
The oscap utility maps Red Hat Security Advisories to CVE identifiers that are linked to the National
Vulnerability Database and reports which security advisories are not applied.
NOTE
Note that these OVAL definitions are designed to only cover software and updates
released by Red Hat. You need to provide additional definitions in order to detect the
patch status of third-party software.
7.9.2. Auditing System Settings with SCAP Security Guide

The SCAP Security Guide (SSG) project's package, scap-security-guide, contains the latest set of
security polices for Linux systems. To install the SCAP Security Guide package on your system, enter
the following command as root:
~]# yum install scap-security-guide
234
A part of scap-security-guide is also a guidance for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 settings. To inspect the
security content available with scap-security-guide, use the oscap info module:
~]$ oscap info /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel7-ds.xml
The output of this command is an outline of the SSG document and it contains available configuration
profiles. To audit your system settings, choose a suitable profile and run the appropriate evaluation
command. For example, the following command is used to assess the given system against a draft
SCAP profile for Red Hat Certified Cloud Providers:

ccp --results ssg-rhel7-xccdf-result.xml --report ssg-rhel7-report.html

For more information about various security compliance fields of interest, see the resources below.
oscap(8) — The manual page for the oscap command-line utility provides a complete list of
available options and their usage explanation.
scap-workbench(8) — The manual page for the SCAP Workbench application provides a basic
information about the application as well as some links to potential sources of SCAP content.
scap-security-guide(8) — The manual page for scap-security-guide provides further

documentation about the various available SCAP security profiles. Examples how to utilize the
provided benchmarks using the OpenSCAP utility are provided as well.
The OpenSCAP project page — The home page to the OpenSCAP project provides detailed
information about the oscap utility and other components and projects related to SCAP.
The SCAP Workbench project page — The home page to the SCAP Workbench project
provides detailed information about the scap-workbench application.
The SCAP Security Guide (SSG) project page — The home page to the SSG project that
provides the latest security content for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SCAP page — This page represents a
vast collection of SCAP related materials, including SCAP publications, specifications, and the
SCAP Validation Program.
National Vulnerability Database (NVD) — This page represents the largest repository of SCAP
content and other SCAP standards based vulnerability management data.
Red Hat OVAL content repository — This is a repository containing OVAL definitions for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux systems.
MITRE CVE — This is a database of publicly known security vulnerabilities provided by the
MITRE corporation.
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Security Guide
MITRE OVAL — This page represents an OVAL related project provided by the MITRE
corporation. Among other OVAL related information, these pages contain the latest version of the
OVAL language and a repository of OVAL content with thousands of OVAL definitions.
Red Hat Satellite documentation — This set of guides describes, among other topics, how to
maintain system security on multiple systems by using OpenSCAP.
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CHAPTER 8. FEDERAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

In order to maintain security levels, it is possible for your organization to make efforts to comply with
federal and industry security specifications, standards and regulations. This chapter describes some of
these standards and regulations.
8.1. FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARD (FIPS)

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 140-2 is a computer security standard,
developed by the U.S. Government and industry working group to validate the quality of cryptographic
modules. See the official FIPS publications here: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsFIPS.html.
The FIPS 140-2 standard ensures that cryptographic tools implement their algorithms properly. See the
full FIPS 140-2 standard at http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.FIPS.140-2 for further details on these levels
and the other specifications of the FIPS standard.
To see the complete list of all FIPS 140-2 certificates, visit

http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140val-all.htm. To learn about compliance
requirements, see the Red Hat Government: Standards page.
8.1.1. Enabling FIPS Mode

To make Red Hat Enterprise Linux compliant with the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
Publication 140-2, you need to make several changes to ensure that accredited cryptographic modules
are used. You can either enable FIPS mode during system installation or after it.
During the System Installation

To fulfil the strict FIPS 140-2 compliance, add the fips=1 kernel option to the kernel command line
during system installation. With this option, all keys' generations are done with FIPS-approved
algorithms and continuous monitoring tests in place. After the installation, the system is configured to
boot into FIPS mode automatically.
IMPORTANT
Ensure that the system has plenty of entropy during the installation process by moving the
mouse around or by pressing many keystrokes. The recommended amount of keystrokes
is 256 and more. Less than 256 keystrokes might generate a non-unique key.
After the System Installation

To turn the kernel space and user space of your system into FIPS mode after installation, follow these
steps:
1. Install the dracut-fips package:
~]# yum install dracut-fips
For CPUs with the AES New Instructions (AES-NI) support, install the dracut-fips-aesni package
as well:
~]# yum install dracut-fips-aesni
2. Regenerate the initramfs file:
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Security Guide
~]# dracut -v -f
To enable the in-module integrity verification and to have all required modules present during the
kernel boot, the initramfs file has to be regenerated.

WARNING
This operation will overwrite the existing initramfs file.
3. Modify boot loader configuration.
To boot into FIPS mode, add the fips=1 option to the kernel command line of the boot loader. If
your /boot or /boot/EFI/ partitions reside on separate partitions, add the
boot=<partition> (where <partition> stands for /boot or /boot/EFI) parameter to the kernel
command line as well.
To identify the boot partition, enter the following command:
~]$ df /boot
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1 495844 53780 416464 12% /boot
To ensure that the boot= configuration option works even if the device naming changes
between boots, identify the universally unique identifier (UUID) of the partition by running the
following command:
~]$ blkid /dev/sda1

/dev/sda1: UUID="05c000f1-f899-467b-a4d9-d5ca4424c797" TYPE="ext4"
Append the UUID to the kernel command line:
boot=UUID=05c000f1-f899-467b-a4d9-d5ca4424c797
Depending on your boot loader, make the following changes:
GRUB 2
Add the fips=1 and boot=<partition of /boot or /boot/EFI> options to the

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX key in the /etc/default/grub file. To apply the changes to
/etc/default/grub, rebuild the grub.cfg file as follows:
On BIOS-based machines, enter the following command as root:
~]# grub2-mkconfig -o /etc/grub2.cfg
On UEFI-based machines, enter the following command as root:
~]# grub2-mkconfig -o /etc/grub2-efi.cfg
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zipl (on the IBM z Systems architecture only)
Add the fips=1 and boot=<partition of /boot> options to the /etc/zipl.conf to

the kernel command line and apply the changes by running the following command as root:
~]# zipl
4. Make sure prelinking is disabled.
For proper operation of the in-module integrity verification, prelinking of libraries and binaries has
to be disabled. Prelinking is done by the prelink package, which is not installed by default.
Unless prelink has been installed, this step is not needed. To disable prelinking, set the
PRELINKING=no option in the /etc/sysconfig/prelink configuration file. To disable
existing prelinking on all system files, use the prelink -u -a command.
5. Reboot your system.
Enabling FIPS Mode in a Container

A container can be switched to FIPS140-2 mode if the host is also set in FIPS140-2 mode and one of the
following requirements is met:
The dracut-fips package is installed in the container.
The /etc/system-fips file is mounted on the container from the host.
8.2. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING

MANUAL (NISPOM)
The NISPOM (also called DoD 5220.22-M), as a component of the National Industrial Security Program
(NISP), establishes a series of procedures and requirements for all government contractors with regard
to classified information. The current NISPOM is dated February 28, 2006, with incorporated major
changes from March 28, 2013. The NISPOM document can be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.nispom.org/NISPOM-download.html.
8.3. PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY DATA SECURITY STANDARD (PCI

DSS)
From https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/about/index.shtml: The PCI Security Standards Council is an
open global forum, launched in 2006, that is responsible for the development, management, education,
and awareness of the PCI Security Standards, including the Data Security Standard (DSS).
You can download the PCI DSS standard from

https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_dss.shtml.
8.4. SECURITY TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

A Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) is a methodology for standardized secure installation
and maintenance of computer software and hardware.
See the following URL for more information on STIG: http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/Pages/index.aspx.
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Security Guide
APPENDIX A. ENCRYPTION STANDARDS
A.1. SYNCHRONOUS ENCRYPTION
A.1.1. Advanced Encryption Standard — AES

In cryptography, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is an encryption standard adopted by the
U.S. Government. The standard comprises three block ciphers, AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256,
adopted from a larger collection originally published as Rijndael. Each AES cipher has a 128-bit block
size, with key sizes of 128, 192 and 256 bits, respectively. The AES ciphers have been analyzed
extensively and are now used worldwide, as was the case with its predecessor, the Data Encryption
Standard (DES). [3]
A.1.1.1. AES History
AES was announced by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as U.S. FIPS PUB 197
(FIPS 197) on November 26, 2001 after a 5-year standardization process. Fifteen competing designs
were presented and evaluated before Rijndael was selected as the most suitable. It became effective as
a standard May 26, 2002. It is available in many different encryption packages. AES is the first publicly
accessible and open cipher approved by the NSA for top secret information (see the Security section in
the Wikipedia article on AES).[4]
The Rijndael cipher was developed by two Belgian cryptographers, Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen,
and submitted by them to the AES selection process. Rijndael is a portmanteau of the names of the two
inventors. [5]
A.1.2. Data Encryption Standard — DES

The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a block cipher (a form of shared secret encryption) that was
selected by the National Bureau of Standards as an official Federal Information Processing Standard
(FIPS) for the United States in 1976 and which has subsequently enjoyed widespread use
internationally. It is based on a symmetric-key algorithm that uses a 56-bit key. The algorithm was initially
controversial with classified design elements, a relatively short key length, and suspicions about a
National Security Agency (NSA) backdoor. DES consequently came under intense academic scrutiny
which motivated the modern understanding of block ciphers and their cryptanalysis. [6]
A.1.2.1. DES History
DES is now considered to be insecure for many applications. This is chiefly due to the 56-bit key size
being too small; in January, 1999, distributed.net and the Electronic Frontier Foundation collaborated to
publicly break a DES key in 22 hours and 15 minutes. There are also some analytical results which
demonstrate theoretical weaknesses in the cipher, although they are unfeasible to mount in practice.
The algorithm is believed to be practically secure in the form of Triple DES, although there are
theoretical attacks. In recent years, the cipher has been superseded by the Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES).[7]
In some documentation, a distinction is made between DES as a standard and DES the algorithm which
is referred to as the DEA (the Data Encryption Algorithm). [8]
A.2. PUBLIC-KEY ENCRYPTION

Public-key cryptography is a cryptographic approach, employed by many cryptographic algorithms and
240
cryptosystems, whose distinguishing characteristic is the use of asymmetric key algorithms instead of or
in addition to symmetric key algorithms. Using the techniques of public key-private key cryptography,
many methods of protecting communications or authenticating messages formerly unknown have
become practical. They do not require a secure initial exchange of one or more secret keys as is required
when using symmetric key algorithms. It can also be used to create digital signatures.[9]
Public key cryptography is a fundamental and widely used technology around the world, and is the
approach which underlies such Internet standards as Transport Layer Security (TLS) (successor to
SSL), PGP and GPG. [10]
The distinguishing technique used in public key cryptography is the use of asymmetric key algorithms,
where the key used to encrypt a message is not the same as the key used to decrypt it. Each user has a
pair of cryptographic keys — a public key and a private key. The private key is kept secret, whilst the
public key may be widely distributed. Messages are encrypted with the recipient's public key and can
only be decrypted with the corresponding private key. The keys are related mathematically, but the
private key cannot be feasibly (ie, in actual or projected practice) derived from the public key. It was the
discovery of such algorithms which revolutionized the practice of cryptography beginning in the middle
1970s.[11]
In contrast, Symmetric-key algorithms, variations of which have been used for some thousands of years,
use a single secret key shared by sender and receiver (which must also be kept private, thus accounting
for the ambiguity of the common terminology) for both encryption and decryption. To use a symmetric
encryption scheme, the sender and receiver must securely share a key in advance.[12]
Because symmetric key algorithms are nearly always much less computationally intensive, it is common
to exchange a key using a key-exchange algorithm and transmit data using that key and a symmetric key
algorithm. PGP, and the SSL/TLS family of schemes do this, for instance, and are called hybrid
cryptosystems in consequence.[13]
A.2.1. Diffie-Hellman
Diffie–Hellman key exchange (D–H) is a cryptographic protocol that allows two parties that have no prior
knowledge of each other to jointly establish a shared secret key over an insecure communications
channel. This key can then be used to encrypt subsequent communications using a symmetric key
cipher.[14]
A.2.1.1. Diffie-Hellman History
The scheme was first published by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman in 1976, although it later emerged
that it had been separately invented a few years earlier within GCHQ, the British signals intelligence
agency, by Malcolm J. Williamson but was kept classified. In 2002, Hellman suggested the algorithm be
called Diffie–Hellman–Merkle key exchange in recognition of Ralph Merkle's contribution to the invention
of public-key cryptography (Hellman, 2002).[15]
Although Diffie–Hellman key agreement itself is an anonymous (non-authenticated) key-agreement

protocol, it provides the basis for a variety of authenticated protocols, and is used to provide perfect
forward secrecy in Transport Layer Security's ephemeral modes (referred to as EDH or DHE depending
on the cipher suite).[16]
U.S. Patent 4,200,770, now expired, describes the algorithm and credits Hellman, Diffie, and Merkle as
inventors. [17]
A.2.2. RSA
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Security Guide
In cryptography, RSA (which stands for Rivest, Shamir and Adleman who first publicly described it) is an
algorithm for public-key cryptography. It is the first algorithm known to be suitable for signing as well as
encryption, and was one of the first great advances in public key cryptography. RSA is widely used in
electronic commerce protocols, and is believed to be secure given sufficiently long keys and the use of
up-to-date implementations.
A.2.3. DSA
DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) is a standard for digital signatures, a United States federal
government standard for digital signatures. DSA is for signatures only and is not an encryption algorithm.
[18]
A.2.4. SSL/TLS
Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), are cryptographic
protocols that provide security for communications over networks such as the Internet. TLS and SSL
encrypt the segments of network connections at the Transport Layer end-to-end.
Several versions of the protocols are in widespread use in applications like web browsing, electronic
mail, Internet faxing, instant messaging and voice-over-IP (VoIP).[19]
A.2.5. Cramer-Shoup Cryptosystem

The Cramer–Shoup system is an asymmetric key encryption algorithm, and was the first efficient
scheme proven to be secure against adaptive chosen ciphertext attack using standard cryptographic
assumptions. Its security is based on the computational intractability (widely assumed, but not proved) of
the decisional Diffie–Hellman assumption. Developed by Ronald Cramer and Victor Shoup in 1998, it is
an extension of the ElGamal cryptosystem. In contrast to ElGamal, which is extremely malleable,
Cramer–Shoup adds additional elements to ensure non-malleability even against a resourceful attacker.
This non-malleability is achieved through the use of a collision-resistant hash function and additional
computations, resulting in a ciphertext which is twice as large as in ElGamal.[20]
A.2.6. ElGamal Encryption

In cryptography, the ElGamal encryption system is an asymmetric key encryption algorithm for public-key
cryptography which is based on the Diffie-Hellman key agreement. It was described by Taher ElGamal in
1985. ElGamal encryption is used in the free GNU Privacy Guard software, recent versions of PGP, and
other cryptosystems.[21]
[3] "Advanced Encryption Standard." Wikipedia. 14 November 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard


[6] "Data Encryption Standard." Wikipedia. 14 November 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Encryption_Standard

242

[9] "Public-key Encryption." Wikipedia. 14 November 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography
[14] "Diffie-Hellman." Wikipedia. 14 November 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie-Hellman
[18] "DSA." Wikipedia. 24 February 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Signature_Algorithm
[19] "TLS/SSL." Wikipedia. 24 February 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security
[20] "Cramer-Shoup cryptosystem." Wikipedia. 24 February 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramer–

Shoup_cryptosystem
[21] "ElGamal encryption" Wikipedia. 24 February 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ElGamal_encryption
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Security Guide
APPENDIX B. AUDIT SYSTEM REFERENCE
B.1. AUDIT EVENT FIELDS

Table B.1, “Event Fields” lists all currently-supported Audit event fields. An event field is the value
preceding the equal sign in the Audit log files.
Table B.1. Event Fields
Event Field Explanation
a0, a1, a2, a3 Records the first four arguments of the system call, encoded in hexadecimal
notation.
acct Records a user's account name.
addr Records the IPv4 or IPv6 address. This field usually follows a hostname
field and contains the address the host name resolves to.
arch Records information about the CPU architecture of the system, encoded in
hexadecimal notation.
auid Records the Audit user ID. This ID is assigned to a user upon login and is
inherited by every process even when the user's identity changes (for
example, by switching user accounts with su - john).
capability Records the number of bits that were used to set a particular Linux capability.
For more information on Linux capabilities, see the capabilities(7) man page.
cap_fe Records data related to the setting of the effective file system-based
capability bit.
cap_fi Records data related to the setting of an inherited file system-based

capability.
cap_fp Records data related to the setting of a permitted file system-based capability.
cap_fver Records the version of a file system-based capability.
cap_pe Records data related to the setting of an effective process-based capability.
cap_pi Records data related to the setting of an inherited process-based capability.
cap_pp Records data related to the setting of a permitted process-based capability.
cgroup Records the path to the cgroup that contains the process at the time the
Audit event was generated.
244
cmd Records the entire command line that is executed. This is useful in case of
shell interpreters where the exe field records, for example, /bin/bash as
the shell interpreter and the cmd field records the rest of the command line
that is executed, for example helloworld.sh --help.
comm Records the command that is executed. This is useful in case of shell
interpreters where the exe field records, for example, /bin/bash as the
shell interpreter and the comm field records the name of the script that is
executed, for example helloworld.sh .
cwd Records the path to the directory in which a system call was invoked.
data Records data associated with TTY records.
dev Records the minor and major ID of the device that contains the file or
directory recorded in an event.
devmajor Records the major device ID.
devminor Records the minor device ID.
egid Records the effective group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
euid Records the effective user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
exe Records the path to the executable that was used to invoke the analyzed
process.
exit Records the exit code returned by a system call. This value varies by system
call. You can interpret the value to its human-readable equivalent with the
following command: ausearch --interpret --exit exit_code
family Records the type of address protocol that was used, either IPv4 or IPv6.
filetype Records the type of the file.
flags Records the file system name flags.
fsgid Records the file system group ID of the user who started the analyzed
process.
fsuid Records the file system user ID of the user who started the analyzed
process.
gid Records the group ID.
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Security Guide
hostname Records the host name.
icmptype Records the type of a Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) package that
is received. Audit messages containing this field are usually generated by
iptables.
id Records the user ID of an account that was changed.
inode Records the inode number associated with the file or directory recorded in an
Audit event.
inode_gid Records the group ID of the inode's owner.
inode_uid Records the user ID of the inode's owner.
items Records the number of path records that are attached to this record.
key Records the user defined string associated with a rule that generated a
particular event in the Audit log.
list Records the Audit rule list ID. The following is a list of known IDs:
0 — user
1 — task
4 — exit
5 — exclude
mode Records the file or directory permissions, encoded in numerical notation.
msg Records a time stamp and a unique ID of a record, or various event-specific

<name>=<value> pairs provided by the kernel or user space applications.
msgtype Records the message type that is returned in case of a user-based AVC
denial. The message type is determined by D-Bus.
name Records the full path of the file or directory that was passed to the system
call as an argument.
new-disk Records the name of a new disk resource that is assigned to a virtual
machine.
new-mem Records the amount of a new memory resource that is assigned to a virtual
machine.
246
new-vcpu Records the number of a new virtual CPU resource that is assigned to a
virtual machine.
new-net Records the MAC address of a new network interface resource that is
assigned to a virtual machine.
new_gid Records a group ID that is assigned to a user.
oauid Records the user ID of the user that has logged in to access the system (as
opposed to, for example, using su) and has started the target process. This
field is exclusive to the record of type OBJ_PID.
ocomm Records the command that was used to start the target process.This field is
exclusive to the record of type OBJ_PID.
opid Records the process ID of the target process. This field is exclusive to the
record of type OBJ_PID.
oses Records the session ID of the target process. This field is exclusive to the
record of type OBJ_PID.
ouid Records the real user ID of the target process
obj Records the SELinux context of an object. An object can be a file, a directory,
a socket, or anything that is receiving the action of a subject.
objtype Records the intent of the PATH record object in the context of a syscall.
obj_gid Records the group ID of an object.
obj_lev_high Records the high SELinux level of an object.
obj_lev_low Records the low SELinux level of an object.
obj_role Records the SELinux role of an object.
obj_uid Records the UID of an object
obj_user Records the user that is associated with an object.
ogid Records the object owner's group ID.
old-disk Records the name of an old disk resource when a new disk resource is
assigned to a virtual machine.
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old-mem Records the amount of an old memory resource when a new amount of
memory is assigned to a virtual machine.
old-vcpu Records the number of an old virtual CPU resource when a new virtual CPU
is assigned to a virtual machine.
old-net Records the MAC address of an old network interface resource when a new
network interface is assigned to a virtual machine.
old_prom Records the previous value of the network promiscuity flag.
ouid Records the real user ID of the user who started the target process.
path Records the full path of the file or directory that was passed to the system
call as an argument in case of AVC-related Audit events
perm Records the file permission that was used to generate an event (that is, read,
write, execute, or attribute change)
pid The pid field semantics depend on the origin of the value in this field.
In fields generated from user-space, this field holds a process ID.
In fields generated by the kernel, this field holds a thread ID. The thread ID is
equal to process ID for single-threaded processes. Note that the value of this
thread ID is different from the values of pthread_t IDs used in user-space.
For more information, see the gettid(2) man page.
ppid Records the Parent Process ID (PID).
proctitle Records the full command-line of the command that was used to invoke the
analyzed process. The field is encoded in hexadecimal notation to not allow
the user to influence the Audit log parser. The text decodes to the command
that triggered this Audit event. When searching Audit records with the
ausearch command, use the -i or --interpret option to
automatically convert hexadecimal values into their human-readable
equivalents.
prom Records the network promiscuity flag.
proto Records the networking protocol that was used. This field is specific to Audit
events generated by iptables.
res Records the result of the operation that triggered the Audit event.
result Records the result of the operation that triggered the Audit event.
saddr Records the socket address.
248
sauid Records the sender Audit login user ID. This ID is provided by D-Bus as the
kernel is unable to see which user is sending the original auid.
ses Records the session ID of the session from which the analyzed process was
invoked.
sgid Records the set group ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
sig Records the number of a signal that causes a program to end abnormally.
Usually, this is a sign of a system intrusion.
subj Records the SELinux context of a subject. A subject can be a process, a user,
or anything that is acting upon an object.
subj_clr Records the SELinux clearance of a subject.
subj_role Records the SELinux role of a subject.
subj_sen Records the SELinux sensitivity of a subject.
subj_user Records the user that is associated with a subject.
success Records whether a system call was successful or failed.
suid Records the set user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
syscall Records the type of the system call that was sent to the kernel.
terminal Records the terminal name (without /dev/).
tty Records the name of the controlling terminal. The value (none) is used if
the process has no controlling terminal.
uid Records the real user ID of the user who started the analyzed process.
vm Records the name of a virtual machine from which the Audit event originated.
B.2. AUDIT RECORD TYPES

Table B.2, “Record Types” lists all currently-supported types of Audit records. The event type is specified
in the type= field at the beginning of every Audit record.
Table B.2. Record Types
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Security Guide
Event Type Explanation
ACCT_LOCK Triggered when a user-space user account is locked by the administrator.
ACCT_UNLOCK Triggered when a user-space user account is unlocked by the administrator.
ADD_GROUP Triggered when a user-space group is added.
ADD_USER Triggered when a user-space user account is added.
ANOM_ABEND[a] Triggered when a processes ends abnormally (with a signal that could cause
a core dump, if enabled).
ANOM_ACCESS_FS[a] Triggered when a file or a directory access ends abnormally.
ANOM_ADD_ACCT [a] Triggered when a user-space account addition ends abnormally.
ANOM_AMTU_FAIL[a] Triggered when a failure of the Abstract Machine Test Utility (AMTU) is
detected.
ANOM_CRYPTO_FAIL [a] Triggered when a failure in the cryptographic system is detected.
ANOM_DEL_ACCT [a] Triggered when a user-space account deletion ends abnormally.
ANOM_EXEC[a] Triggered when an execution of a file ends abnormally.
ANOM_LINK[a] Triggered when suspicious use of file links is detected.
ANOM_LOGIN_ACCT[a] Triggered when an account login attempt ends abnormally.
ANOM_LOGIN_FAILURE Triggered when the limit of failed login attempts is reached.

S [a]
ANOM_LOGIN_LOCATIO Triggered when a login attempt is made from a forbidden location.

N [a]
ANOM_LOGIN_SESSION Triggered when a login attempt reaches the maximum amount of concurrent
S [a] sessions.
ANOM_LOGIN_TIME[a] Triggered when a login attempt is made at a time when it is prevented by, for
example, pam_time.
ANOM_MAX_DAC[a] Triggered when the maximum amount of Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
failures is reached.
250
ANOM_MAX_MAC[a] Triggered when the maximum amount of Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
failures is reached.
ANOM_MK_EXEC[a] Triggered when a file is made executable.
ANOM_MOD_ACCT [a] Triggered when a user-space account modification ends abnormally.
ANOM_PROMISCUOUS [a] Triggered when a device enables or disables promiscuous mode.
ANOM_RBAC_FAIL[a] Triggered when a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) self-test failure is

detected.
ANOM_RBAC_INTEGRITY Triggered when a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) file integrity test failure
_FAIL[a] is detected.
ANOM_ROOT_TRANS[a] Triggered when a user becomes root.
AVC Triggered to record an SELinux permission check.
AVC_PATH Triggered to record the dentry and vfsmount pair when an SELinux
permission check occurs.
BPRM_FCAPS Triggered when a user executes a program with a file system capability.
CAPSET Triggered to record the capabilities being set for process-based capabilities,
for example, running as root to drop capabilities.
CHGRP_ID Triggered when a user-space group ID is changed.
CHUSER_ID Triggered when a user-space user ID is changed.
CONFIG_CHANGE Triggered when the Audit system configuration is modified.
CRED_ACQ Triggered when a user acquires user-space credentials.
CRED_DISP Triggered when a user disposes of user-space credentials.
CRED_REFR Triggered when a user refreshes their user-space credentials.
CRYPTO_FAILURE_USER Triggered when a decrypt, encrypt, or randomize cryptographic operation

fails.
CRYPTO_IKE_SA Triggered when an Internet Key Exchange Security Association is

established.
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Security Guide
CRYPTO_IPSEC_SA Triggered when an Internet Protocol Security Association is established.
CRYPTO_KEY_USER Triggered to record the cryptographic key identifier used for cryptographic
purposes.
CRYPTO_LOGIN Triggered when a cryptographic officer login attempt is detected.
CRYPTO_LOGOUT Triggered when a cryptographic officer logout attempt is detected.
CRYPTO_PARAM_CHANGE Triggered when a change in a cryptographic parameter is detected.

_USER
CRYPTO_REPLAY_USER Triggered when a replay attack is detected.
CRYPTO_SESSION Triggered to record parameters set during a TLS session establishment.
CRYPTO_TEST_USER Triggered to record cryptographic test results as required by the FIPS-140

standard.
CWD Triggered to record the current working directory.
DAC_CHECK Triggered to record DAC check results.
DAEMON_ABORT Triggered when a daemon is stopped due to an error.
DAEMON_ACCEPT Triggered when the auditd daemon accepts a remote connection.
DAEMON_CLOSE Triggered when the auditd daemon closes a remote connection.
DAEMON_CONFIG Triggered when a daemon configuration change is detected.
DAEMON_END Triggered when a daemon is successfully stopped.
DAEMON_ERR Triggered when an auditd daemon internal error is detected.
DAEMON_RESUME Triggered when the auditd daemon resumes logging.
DAEMON_ROTATE Triggered when the auditd daemon rotates the Audit log files.
DAEMON_START Triggered when the auditd daemon is started.
DEL_GROUP Triggered when a user-space group is deleted
DEL_USER Triggered when a user-space user is deleted
252
DEV_ALLOC Triggered when a device is allocated.
DEV_DEALLOC Triggered when a device is deallocated.
EOE Triggered to record the end of a multi-record event.
EXECVE Triggered to record arguments of the execve(2) system call.
FD_PAIR Triggered to record the use of the pipe and socketpair system calls.
FEATURE_CHANGE Triggered when an Audit feature changed value.
FS_RELABEL Triggered when a file system relabel operation is detected.
GRP_AUTH Triggered when a group password is used to authenticate against a user-

space group.
GRP_CHAUTHTOK Triggered when a group account password or PIN is modified.
GRP_MGMT Triggered to record user-space group account attribute modification.
INTEGRITY_DATA[b] Triggered to record a data integrity verification event run by the kernel.
INTEGRITY_HASH[b] Triggered to record a hash type integrity verification event run by the kernel.
INTEGRITY_METADATA [b] Triggered to record a metadata integrity verification event run by the kernel.
INTEGRITY_PCR [b] Triggered to record Platform Configuration Register (PCR) invalidation

messages.
INTEGRITY_RULE[b] Triggered to record a policy rule.
INTEGRITY_STATUS [b] Triggered to record the status of integrity verification.
IPC Triggered to record information about a Inter-Process Communication object

referenced by a system call.
IPC_SET_PERM Triggered to record information about new values set by an IPC_SET control
operation on an IPC object.
KERN_MODULE Triggered to record a kernel module name on load or unload.
KERNEL Triggered to record the initialization of the Audit system.
253
Security Guide
KERNEL_OTHER Triggered to record information from third-party kernel modules.
LABEL_LEVEL_CHANGE Triggered when an object's level label is modified.
LABEL_OVERRIDE Triggered when an administrator overrides an object's level label.
LOGIN Triggered to record relevant login information when a user log in to access
the system.
MAC_CHECK Triggered when a user space MAC (Mandatory Access Control) decision is
made.
MAC_CIPSOV4_ADD Triggered when a Commercial Internet Protocol Security Option (CIPSO) user
adds a new Domain of Interpretation (DOI). Adding DOIs is a part of the
packet labeling capabilities of the kernel provided by NetLabel.
MAC_CIPSOV4_DEL Triggered when a CIPSO user deletes an existing DOI. Adding DOIs is a part
of the packet labeling capabilities of the kernel provided by NetLabel.
MAC_CONFIG_CHANGE Triggered when an SELinux Boolean value is changed.
MAC_IPSEC_EVENT Triggered to record information about an IPSec event, when one is detected,
or when the IPSec configuration changes.
MAC_MAP_ADD Triggered when a new Linux Security Module (LSM) domain mapping is
added. LSM domain mapping is a part of the packet labeling capabilities of
the kernel provided by NetLabel.
MAC_MAP_DEL Triggered when an existing LSM domain mapping is deleted. LSM domain
mapping is a part of the packet labeling capabilities of the kernel provided by
NetLabel.
MAC_POLICY_LOAD Triggered when a SELinux policy file is loaded.
MAC_STATUS Triggered when the SELinux mode (enforcing, permissive, off) is changed.
MAC_UNLBL_ALLOW Triggered when unlabeled traffic is allowed when using the packet labeling
capabilities of the kernel provided by NetLabel.
MAC_UNLBL_STCADD Triggered when a static label is added when using the packet labeling
MAC_UNLBL_STCDEL Triggered when a static label is deleted when using the packet labeling
MMAP Triggered to record a file descriptor and flags of the mmap(2) system call.
254
MQ_GETSETATTR Triggered to record the mq_getattr(3) and mq_setattr(3) message

queue attributes.
MQ_NOTIFY Triggered to record arguments of the mq_notify(3) system call.
MQ_OPEN Triggered to record arguments of the mq_open(3) system call.
MQ_SENDRECV Triggered to record arguments of the mq_send(3) and mq_receive(3)

system calls.
NETFILTER_CFG Triggered when Netfilter chain modifications are detected.
NETFILTER_PKT Triggered to record packets traversing Netfilter chains.
OBJ_PID Triggered to record information about a process to which a signal is sent.
PATH Triggered to record file name path information.
PROCTITLE Gives the full command-line that triggered this Audit event, triggered by a
system call to the kernel.
RESP_ACCT_LOCK[c] Triggered when a user account is locked.
RESP_ACCT_LOCK_TIME Triggered when a user account is locked for a specified period of time.
[c]
D
RESP_ACCT_REMOTE [c] Triggered when a user account is locked from a remote session.
RESP_ACCT_UNLOCK_TI Triggered when a user account is unlocked after a configured period of time.
[c]
MED
RESP_ALERT[c] Triggered when an alert email is sent.
RESP_ANOMALY[c] Triggered when an anomaly was not acted upon.
RESP_EXEC[c] Triggered when an intrusion detection program responds to a threat

originating from the execution of a program.
RESP_HALT[c] Triggered when the system is shut down.
RESP_KILL_PROC[c] Triggered when a process is terminated.
RESP_SEBOOL [c] Triggered when an SELinux Boolean value is set.
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Security Guide
RESP_SINGLE [c] Triggered when the system is put into single-user mode.
RESP_TERM_ACCESS [c] Triggered when a session is terminated.
RESP_TERM_LOCK[c] Triggered when a terminal is locked.
ROLE_ASSIGN Triggered when an administrator assigns a user to an SELinux role.
ROLE_MODIFY Triggered when an administrator modifies an SELinux role.
ROLE_REMOVE Triggered when an administrator removes a user from an SELinux role.
SECCOMP Triggered when a SECure COMPuting event is detected.
SELINUX_ERR Triggered when an internal SELinux error is detected.
SERVICE_START Triggered when a service is started.
SERVICE_STOP Triggered when a service is stopped.
SOCKADDR Triggered to record a socket address.
SOCKETCALL Triggered to record arguments of the sys_socketcall system call (used

to multiplex many socket-related system calls).
SYSCALL Triggered to record a system call to the kernel.
SYSTEM_BOOT Triggered when the system is booted up.
SYSTEM_RUNLEVEL Triggered when the system's run level is changed.
SYSTEM_SHUTDOWN Triggered when the system is shut down.
TEST Triggered to record the success value of a test message.
TRUSTED_APP The record of this type can be used by third party application that require
auditing.
TTY Triggered when TTY input was sent to an administrative process.
USER_ACCT Triggered when a user-space user authorization attempt is detected.
USER_AUTH Triggered when a user-space user authentication attempt is detected.
256
USER_AVC Triggered when a user-space AVC message is generated.
USER_CHAUTHTOK Triggered when a user account password or PIN is modified.
USER_CMD Triggered when a user-space shell command is executed.
USER_END Triggered when a user-space session is terminated.
USER_ERR Triggered when a user account state error is detected.
USER_LABELED_EXPORT Triggered when an object is exported with an SELinux label.
USER_LOGIN Triggered when a user logs in.
USER_LOGOUT Triggered when a user logs out.
USER_MAC_POLICY_LOA Triggered when a user-space daemon loads an SELinux policy.

D
USER_MGMT Triggered to record user-space user account attribute modification.
USER_ROLE_CHANGE Triggered when a user's SELinux role is changed.
USER_SELINUX_ERR Triggered when a user-space SELinux error is detected.
USER_START Triggered when a user-space session is started.
USER_TTY Triggered when an explanatory message about TTY input to an

administrative process is sent from user-space.
USER_UNLABELED_EXPO Triggered when an object is exported without SELinux label.

RT
USYS_CONFIG Triggered when a user-space system configuration change is detected.
VIRT_CONTROL Triggered when a virtual machine is started, paused, or stopped.
VIRT_MACHINE_ID Triggered to record the binding of a label to a virtual machine.
VIRT_RESOURCE Triggered to record resource assignment of a virtual machine.
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Security Guide
[a] All Audit event types prepended with ANOM are intended to be processed by an intrusion detection program.
[b] This event type is related to the Integrity Measurement Architecture (IMA), which functions best with a Trusted Platform
Module (TPM) chip.
[c] All Audit event types prepended with RESP are intended responses of an intrusion detection system in case it detects
malicious activity on the system.
258
APPENDIX C. REVISION HISTORY
APPENDIX C. REVISION HISTORY

Revision 1-41 Sat Oct 20 2018 Mirek Jahoda
Version for 7.6 GA publication.
Revision 1-32 Wed Apr 4 2018 Mirek Jahoda

Revision 1-30 Thu Jul 27 2017 Mirek Jahoda

Revision 1-24 Mon Feb 6 2017 Mirek Jahoda

Async release with misc. updates, especially in the firewalld section.
Revision 1-23 Tue Nov 1 2016 Mirek Jahoda

Revision 1-19 Mon Jul 18 2016 Mirek Jahoda

The Smart Cards section added.
Revision 1-18 Mon Jun 27 2016 Mirek Jahoda

The OpenSCAP-daemon and Atomic Scan section added.
Revision 1-17 Fri Jun 3 2016 Mirek Jahoda

Async release with misc. updates.
Revision 1-16 Tue Jan 5 2016 Robert Krátký

Post 7.2 GA fixes.
Revision 1-15 Tue Nov 10 2015 Robert Krátký

Version for 7.2 GA release.
Revision 1-14.18 Mon Nov 09 2015 Robert Krátký

Async release with misc. updates.
Revision 1-14.17 Wed Feb 18 2015 Robert Krátký

Revision 1-14.15 Fri Dec 06 2014 Robert Krátký

Update to sort order on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
Revision 1-14.13 Thu Nov 27 2014 Robert Krátký

Updates reflecting the POODLE vuln.
Revision 1-14.12 Tue Jun 03 2014 Tomáš Čapek

259

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

A Guide to Securing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Last Updated: 2018-10-22

Java ® is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

5.13. SETTING AND CONTROLLING IP SETS USING IPTABLES 170

CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW OF SECURITY TOPICS

1.1. WHAT IS COMPUTER SECURITY?

1.1.1. Standardizing Security

Confidentiality — Sensitive information must be available only to a set of pre-defined individuals.

1.1.2. Cryptographic Software and Certifications

RHEL7 Core Crypto Components

1.2. SECURITY CONTROLS

1.2.1. Physical Controls

Closed-circuit surveillance cameras

Motion or thermal alarm systems

Locked and dead-bolted steel doors

1.2.2. Technical Controls

Access control lists (ACLs)

File integrity auditing software

1.2.3. Administrative Controls

Training and awareness

Disaster preparedness and recovery plans

Personnel recruitment and separation strategies

Personnel registration and accounting

1.3. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

1.3.1. Defining Assessment and Testing

Do not attempt to exploit vulnerabilities on production systems. Doing so can have

Creates proactive focus on information security.

Finds potential exploits before crackers find them.

Results in systems being kept up to date and patched.

Promotes growth and aids in developing staff expertise.

Abates financial loss and negative publicity.

1.3.2. Establishing a Methodology for Vulnerability Assessment

To learn more about establishing methodologies, see the following website:

https://www.owasp.org/ — The Open Web Application Security Project

1.3.3. Vulnerability Assessment Tools

1.3.3.1. Scanning Hosts with Nmap

1.3.3.1.1. Using Nmap

~]$ nmap foo.example.com

Interesting ports on foo.example.com:

More information about Nikto can be found at the following URL:

1.4. SECURITY THREATS

1.4.1. Threats to Network Security

1.4.2. Threats to Server Security

Unused Services and Open Ports

Inherently Insecure Services

1.4.3. Threats to Workstation and Home PC Security

Vulnerable Client Applications

1.5. COMMON EXPLOITS AND ATTACKS

Table 1.1. Common Exploits

Exploit Description Notes

Depends on target system running

Exploit Description Notes

Preventative measures include services

Services sometimes can have

Administrators should make sure that

Exploit Description Notes

Source packets are usually forged (as