Ensure auditd Collects Unauthorized Access Attempts to Files (unsuccessful)
Description
At a minimum the audit system should collect unauthorized file
accesses for all users and root. If the auditd daemon is configured
to use the augenrules program to read audit rules during daemon
startup (the default), add the following lines to a file with suffix
.rules in the directory /etc/audit/rules.d:
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
If the system is 64 bit then also add the following lines:
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
If the auditd daemon is configured to use the auditctl
utility to read audit rules during daemon startup, add the following lines to
/etc/audit/audit.rules file:
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
If the system is 64 bit then also add the following lines:
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat,open,openat,open_by_handle_at,truncate,ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -F key=access
Rationale
Unsuccessful attempts to access files could be an indicator of malicious activity on a system. Auditing
these events could serve as evidence of potential system compromise.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
#!/bin/bash
# Perform the remediation of the syscall rule
# Retrieve hardware architecture of the underlying system
[ $(getconf LONG_BIT) = "32" ] && RULE_ARCHS=("b32") || RULE_ARCHS=("b32" "b64")
for ARCH in "${RULE_ARCHS[@]}"
do
# First fix the -EACCES requirement
PATTERN="-a always,exit -F arch=$ARCH -S .* -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k *"
# Use escaped BRE regex to specify rule group
GROUP="\(creat\|open\|truncate\)"
FULL_RULE="-a always,exit -F arch=$ARCH -S creat -S open -S openat -S open_by_handle_at -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access"
# Perform the remediation for both possible tools: 'auditctl' and 'augenrules'
<ns10:sub idref="xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_value_function_fix_audit_syscall_rule" use="legacy"/>
fix_audit_syscall_rule "auditctl" "$PATTERN" "$GROUP" "$ARCH" "$FULL_RULE"
fix_audit_syscall_rule "augenrules" "$PATTERN" "$GROUP" "$ARCH" "$FULL_RULE"
# Then fix the -EPERM requirement
PATTERN="-a always,exit -F arch=$ARCH -S .* -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k *"
# No need to change content of $GROUP variable - it's the same as for -EACCES case above
FULL_RULE="-a always,exit -F arch=$ARCH -S creat -S open -S openat -S open_by_handle_at -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access"
# Perform the remediation for both possible tools: 'auditctl' and 'augenrules'
<ns10:sub idref="xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_value_function_fix_audit_syscall_rule" use="legacy"/>
fix_audit_syscall_rule "auditctl" "$PATTERN" "$GROUP" "$ARCH" "$FULL_RULE"
fix_audit_syscall_rule "augenrules" "$PATTERN" "$GROUP" "$ARCH" "$FULL_RULE"
done
Warning
This rule checks for multiple syscalls related to unsuccessful file modification;
it was written with DISA STIG in mind. Other policies should use a
separate rule for each syscall that needs to be checked. For example:
audit_rules_unsuccessful_file_modification_openaudit_rules_unsuccessful_file_modification_ftruncateaudit_rules_unsuccessful_file_modification_creat
