Description

The slapd package is not installed by default on a Ubuntu 20.04 system. It is needed only by the OpenLDAP server, not by the clients which use LDAP for authentication. If the system is not intended for use as an LDAP Server it should be removed.

Rationale

Unnecessary packages should not be installed to decrease the attack surface of the system. While this software is clearly essential on an LDAP server, it is not necessary on typical desktop or workstation systems.

Remediation

Shell script

The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.

#!/bin/bash

# CAUTION: This remediation script will remove slapd
#	   from the system, and may remove any packages
#	   that depend on slapd. Execute this
#	   remediation AFTER testing on a non-production
#	   system!

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get remove -y "slapd"

Ansible playbook

The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.

- name: Ensure slapd is removed
  package:
    name: slapd
    state: absent
  tags:
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
  - disable_strategy
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - low_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - package_openldap-servers_removed