Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4

with profile DRAFT - BSI APP.4.4. and SYS.1.6
This profile defines a baseline that aligns to the BSI (Federal Office for Security Information) IT-Grundschutz Basic-Protection. This baseline implements OS-Level configuration requirements from the following sources: - Building-Block SYS.1.6 Containerisation - Building-Block APP.4.4 Kubernetes THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE REQUIREMENTS FOR A HARDENED LINUX FROM SYS.1.3 LINUX
This guide presents a catalog of security-relevant configuration settings for Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4. It is a rendering of content structured in the eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format (XCCDF) in order to support security automation. The SCAP content is is available in the scap-security-guide package which is developed at https://www.open-scap.org/security-policies/scap-security-guide.

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

Profile Information

Profile TitleDRAFT - BSI APP.4.4. and SYS.1.6
Profile IDxccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_bsi

CPE Platforms

  • cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux_coreos:4

Revision History

Current version: 0.1.75

  • draft (as of 2024-10-11)

Table of Contents

  1. System Settings
    1. Network Configuration and Firewalls
    2. SELinux

Checklist

Group   Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4   Group contains 5 groups and 4 rules
Group   System Settings   Group contains 4 groups and 4 rules
[ref]   Contains rules that check correct system settings.
Group   Network Configuration and Firewalls   Group contains 2 groups and 1 rule
[ref]   Most systems must be connected to a network of some sort, and this brings with it the substantial risk of network attack. This section discusses the security impact of decisions about networking which must be made when configuring a system.

This section also discusses firewalls, network access controls, and other network security frameworks, which allow system-level rules to be written that can limit an attackers' ability to connect to your system. These rules can specify that network traffic should be allowed or denied from certain IP addresses, hosts, and networks. The rules can also specify which of the system's network services are available to particular hosts or networks.
Group   firewalld   Group contains 1 group and 1 rule
[ref]   The dynamic firewall daemon firewalld provides a dynamically managed firewall with support for network “zones” to assign a level of trust to a network and its associated connections and interfaces. It has support for IPv4 and IPv6 firewall settings. It supports Ethernet bridges and has a separation of runtime and permanent configuration options. It also has an interface for services or applications to add firewall rules directly.
A graphical configuration tool, firewall-config, is used to configure firewalld, which in turn uses iptables tool to communicate with Netfilter in the kernel which implements packet filtering.
The firewall service provided by firewalld is dynamic rather than static because changes to the configuration can be made at anytime and are immediately implemented. There is no need to save or apply the changes. No unintended disruption of existing network connections occurs as no part of the firewall has to be reloaded.
Group   Inspect and Activate Default firewalld Rules   Group contains 1 rule
[ref]   Firewalls can be used to separate networks into different zones based on the level of trust the user has decided to place on the devices and traffic within that network. NetworkManager informs firewalld to which zone an interface belongs. An interface's assigned zone can be changed by NetworkManager or via the firewall-config tool.
The zone settings in /etc/firewalld/ are a range of preset settings which can be quickly applied to a network interface. These are the zones provided by firewalld sorted according to the default trust level of the zones from untrusted to trusted:
  • drop

    Any incoming network packets are dropped, there is no reply. Only outgoing network connections are possible.

  • 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.

  • public

    For use in public areas. You do not trust the other computers on the network to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.

  • 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.

  • dmz

    For computers in your demilitarized zone that are publicly-accessible with limited access to your internal network. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.

  • work

    For use in work areas. You mostly trust the other computers on networks to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.

  • home

    For use in home areas. You mostly trust the other computers on networks to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.

  • internal

    For use on internal networks. You mostly trust the other computers on the networks to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.

  • trusted

    All network connections are accepted.


It is possible to designate one of these zones to be 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.
To find out all the settings of a zone, for example the public zone, enter the following command as root:
# firewall-cmd --zone=public --list-all
Example output of this command might look like the following:
# firewall-cmd --zone=public --list-all
public
  interfaces:
  services: mdns dhcpv6-client ssh
  ports:
  forward-ports:
  icmp-blocks: source-quench
To view the network zones currently active, enter the following command as root:
# firewall-cmd --get-service
The following listing displays the result of this command on common Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4 system:
# firewall-cmd --get-service
amanda-client bacula bacula-client dhcp dhcpv6 dhcpv6-client dns ftp
high-availability http https imaps ipp ipp-client ipsec kerberos kpasswd
ldap ldaps libvirt libvirt-tls mdns mountd ms-wbt mysql nfs ntp openvpn
pmcd pmproxy pmwebapi pmwebapis pop3s postgresql proxy-dhcp radius rpc-bind
samba samba-client smtp ssh telnet tftp tftp-client transmission-client
vnc-server wbem-https
Finally to view the network zones that will be active after the next firewalld service reload, enter the following command as root:
# firewall-cmd --get-service --permanent

Rule   Verify firewalld Enabled   [ref]

The firewalld service can be enabled with the following manifest:
---
apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
kind: MachineConfig
metadata:
  labels:
    machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: master
  name: 75-master-firewalld-enable
spec:
  config:
    ignition:
      version: 3.1.0
    systemd:
      units:
      - name: firewalld.service
        enabled: true

This will enable the firewalld service in all the nodes labeled with the "master" role.

Note that this needs to be done for each MachineConfigPool

For more information on how to configure nodes with the Machine Config Operator see the relevant documentation.

Rationale:
Access control methods provide the ability to enhance system security posture by restricting services and known good IP addresses and address ranges. This prevents connections from unknown hosts and protocols.
Severity: 
medium
Rule ID:xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_service_firewalld_enabled
Identifiers:

CCE-82554-7

References:
cis-csc11, 3, 9
cobit5BAI10.01, BAI10.02, BAI10.03, BAI10.05
cui3.1.3, 3.4.7
disaCCI-000382, CCI-000366, CCI-002314
isa-62443-20094.3.4.3.2, 4.3.4.3.3
isa-62443-2013SR 7.6
iso27001-2013A.12.1.2, A.12.5.1, A.12.6.2, A.14.2.2, A.14.2.3, A.14.2.4
nerc-cipCIP-003-8 R4, CIP-003-8 R5, CIP-004-6 R3
nistAC-4, CM-7(b), CA-3(5), SC-7(21), CM-6(a)
nist-csfPR.IP-1
osppFMT_SMF_EXT.1
os-srgSRG-OS-000096-GPOS-00050, SRG-OS-000297-GPOS-00115, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00231, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00232
bsiSYS.1.6.A5
pcidss41.2.1, 1.2
Group   SELinux   Group contains 3 rules
[ref]   SELinux is a feature of the Linux kernel which can be used to guard against misconfigured or compromised programs. SELinux enforces the idea that programs should be limited in what files they can access and what actions they can take.

The default SELinux policy, as configured on Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4, has been sufficiently developed and debugged that it should be usable on almost any system with minimal configuration and a small amount of system administrator training. This policy prevents system services - including most of the common network-visible services such as mail servers, FTP servers, and DNS servers - from accessing files which those services have no valid reason to access. This action alone prevents a huge amount of possible damage from network attacks against services, from trojaned software, and so forth.

This guide recommends that SELinux be enabled using the default (targeted) policy on every Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS 4 system, unless that system has unusual requirements which make a stronger policy appropriate.

Rule   Ensure SELinux Not Disabled in the kernel arguments   [ref]

SELinux can be disabled at boot time by disabling it via a kernel argument. Remove any instances of selinux=0 from the kernel arguments in that file to prevent SELinux from being disabled at boot.
Rationale:
Disabling a major host protection feature, such as SELinux, at boot time prevents it from confining system services at boot time. Further, it increases the chances that it will remain off during system operation.
Severity: 
medium
Rule ID:xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_coreos_enable_selinux_kernel_argument
Identifiers:

CCE-83899-5

References:
cis-csc1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
cobit5APO01.06, APO11.04, APO13.01, BAI03.05, DSS01.05, DSS03.01, DSS05.02, DSS05.04, DSS05.05, DSS05.07, DSS06.02, DSS06.03, DSS06.06, MEA02.01
cui3.1.2, 3.7.2
disaCCI-000022, CCI-000032
hipaa164.308(a)(1)(ii)(D), 164.308(a)(3), 164.308(a)(4), 164.310(b), 164.310(c), 164.312(a), 164.312(e)
isa-62443-20094.2.3.4, 4.3.3.2.2, 4.3.3.3.9, 4.3.3.4, 4.3.3.5.1, 4.3.3.5.2, 4.3.3.5.3, 4.3.3.5.4, 4.3.3.5.5, 4.3.3.5.6, 4.3.3.5.7, 4.3.3.5.8, 4.3.3.6.1, 4.3.3.6.2, 4.3.3.6.3, 4.3.3.6.4, 4.3.3.6.5, 4.3.3.6.6, 4.3.3.6.7, 4.3.3.6.8, 4.3.3.6.9, 4.3.3.7.1, 4.3.3.7.2, 4.3.3.7.3, 4.3.3.7.4, 4.3.4.4.7, 4.4.2.1, 4.4.2.2, 4.4.2.4, 4.4.3.3
isa-62443-2013SR 1.1, SR 1.10, SR 1.11, SR 1.12, SR 1.13, SR 1.2, SR 1.3, SR 1.4, SR 1.5, SR 1.6, SR 1.7, SR 1.8, SR 1.9, SR 2.1, SR 2.10, SR 2.11, SR 2.12, SR 2.2, SR 2.3, SR 2.4, SR 2.5, SR 2.6, SR 2.7, SR 2.8, SR 2.9, SR 3.1, SR 3.5, SR 3.8, SR 4.1, SR 4.3, SR 5.1, SR 5.2, SR 5.3, SR 7.1, SR 7.6
iso27001-2013A.10.1.1, A.11.1.4, A.11.1.5, A.11.2.1, A.12.1.1, A.12.1.2, A.12.4.1, A.12.4.2, A.12.4.3, A.12.4.4, A.12.7.1, A.13.1.1, A.13.1.2, A.13.1.3, A.13.2.1, A.13.2.2, A.13.2.3, A.13.2.4, A.14.1.2, A.14.1.3, A.6.1.2, A.7.1.1, A.7.1.2, A.7.3.1, A.8.2.2, A.8.2.3, A.9.1.1, A.9.1.2, A.9.2.1, A.9.2.3, A.9.4.1, A.9.4.4, A.9.4.5
nerc-cipCIP-003-8 R5.1.1, CIP-003-8 R5.3, CIP-004-6 R2.2.3, CIP-004-6 R2.3, CIP-007-3 R5.1, CIP-007-3 R5.1.2, CIP-007-3 R5.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.1, CIP-007-3 R5.3.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.3
nistAC-3, AC-3(3)(a)
nist-csfDE.AE-1, ID.AM-3, PR.AC-4, PR.AC-5, PR.AC-6, PR.DS-5, PR.PT-1, PR.PT-3, PR.PT-4
app-srg-ctrSRG-APP-000233-CTR-000585, CNTR-OS-000540
bsiAPP.4.4.A4, SYS.1.6.A3

Rule   Configure SELinux Policy   [ref]

The SELinux targeted policy is appropriate for general-purpose desktops and servers, as well as systems in many other roles. To configure the system to use this policy, add or correct the following line in /etc/selinux/config:
SELINUXTYPE=targeted
       
Other policies, such as mls, provide additional security labeling and greater confinement but are not compatible with many general-purpose use cases.
Rationale:
Setting the SELinux policy to targeted or a more specialized policy ensures the system will confine processes that are likely to be targeted for exploitation, such as network or system services.

Note: During the development or debugging of SELinux modules, it is common to temporarily place non-production systems in permissive mode. In such temporary cases, SELinux policies should be developed, and once work is completed, the system should be reconfigured to targeted.
Severity: 
medium
Rule ID:xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_selinux_policytype
Identifiers:

CCE-82532-3

References:
cis-csc1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
cobit5APO01.06, APO11.04, APO13.01, BAI03.05, DSS01.05, DSS03.01, DSS05.02, DSS05.04, DSS05.05, DSS05.07, DSS06.02, DSS06.03, DSS06.06, MEA02.01
cui3.1.2, 3.7.2
disaCCI-002696
hipaa164.308(a)(1)(ii)(D), 164.308(a)(3), 164.308(a)(4), 164.310(b), 164.310(c), 164.312(a), 164.312(e)
isa-62443-20094.2.3.4, 4.3.3.2.2, 4.3.3.3.9, 4.3.3.4, 4.3.3.5.1, 4.3.3.5.2, 4.3.3.5.3, 4.3.3.5.4, 4.3.3.5.5, 4.3.3.5.6, 4.3.3.5.7, 4.3.3.5.8, 4.3.3.6.1, 4.3.3.6.2, 4.3.3.6.3, 4.3.3.6.4, 4.3.3.6.5, 4.3.3.6.6, 4.3.3.6.7, 4.3.3.6.8, 4.3.3.6.9, 4.3.3.7.1, 4.3.3.7.2, 4.3.3.7.3, 4.3.3.7.4, 4.3.4.4.7, 4.4.2.1, 4.4.2.2, 4.4.2.4, 4.4.3.3
isa-62443-2013SR 1.1, SR 1.10, SR 1.11, SR 1.12, SR 1.13, SR 1.2, SR 1.3, SR 1.4, SR 1.5, SR 1.6, SR 1.7, SR 1.8, SR 1.9, SR 2.1, SR 2.10, SR 2.11, SR 2.12, SR 2.2, SR 2.3, SR 2.4, SR 2.5, SR 2.6, SR 2.7, SR 2.8, SR 2.9, SR 3.1, SR 3.5, SR 3.8, SR 4.1, SR 4.3, SR 5.1, SR 5.2, SR 5.3, SR 7.1, SR 7.6
iso27001-2013A.10.1.1, A.11.1.4, A.11.1.5, A.11.2.1, A.12.1.1, A.12.1.2, A.12.4.1, A.12.4.2, A.12.4.3, A.12.4.4, A.12.7.1, A.13.1.1, A.13.1.2, A.13.1.3, A.13.2.1, A.13.2.2, A.13.2.3, A.13.2.4, A.14.1.2, A.14.1.3, A.6.1.2, A.7.1.1, A.7.1.2, A.7.3.1, A.8.2.2, A.8.2.3, A.9.1.1, A.9.1.2, A.9.2.1, A.9.2.3, A.9.4.1, A.9.4.4, A.9.4.5
nerc-cipCIP-003-8 R5.1.1, CIP-003-8 R5.2, CIP-003-8 R5.3, CIP-004-6 R2.2.3, CIP-004-6 R2.3, CIP-004-6 R3.3, CIP-007-3 R5.1, CIP-007-3 R5.1.2, CIP-007-3 R5.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.1, CIP-007-3 R5.3.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.3, CIP-007-3 R6.5
nistAC-3, AC-3(3)(a), AU-9, SC-7(21)
nist-csfDE.AE-1, ID.AM-3, PR.AC-4, PR.AC-5, PR.AC-6, PR.DS-5, PR.PT-1, PR.PT-3, PR.PT-4
os-srgSRG-OS-000445-GPOS-00199
app-srg-ctrSRG-APP-000233-CTR-000585, CNTR-OS-000540
anssiR46, R64
bsiAPP.4.4.A4, SYS.1.6.A3
pcidss41.2.6, 1.2

Rule   Ensure SELinux State is Enforcing   [ref]

The SELinux state should be set to enforcing at system boot time. In the file /etc/selinux/config, add or correct the following line to configure the system to boot into enforcing mode:
SELINUX=enforcing
       
Rationale:
Setting the SELinux state to enforcing ensures SELinux is able to confine potentially compromised processes to the security policy, which is designed to prevent them from causing damage to the system or further elevating their privileges.
Severity: 
high
Rule ID:xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_selinux_state
Identifiers:

CCE-82531-5

References:
cis-csc1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
cobit5APO01.06, APO11.04, APO13.01, BAI03.05, DSS01.05, DSS03.01, DSS05.02, DSS05.04, DSS05.05, DSS05.07, DSS06.02, DSS06.03, DSS06.06, MEA02.01
cui3.1.2, 3.7.2
disaCCI-002696, CCI-001084
hipaa164.308(a)(1)(ii)(D), 164.308(a)(3), 164.308(a)(4), 164.310(b), 164.310(c), 164.312(a), 164.312(e)
isa-62443-20094.2.3.4, 4.3.3.2.2, 4.3.3.3.9, 4.3.3.4, 4.3.3.5.1, 4.3.3.5.2, 4.3.3.5.3, 4.3.3.5.4, 4.3.3.5.5, 4.3.3.5.6, 4.3.3.5.7, 4.3.3.5.8, 4.3.3.6.1, 4.3.3.6.2, 4.3.3.6.3, 4.3.3.6.4, 4.3.3.6.5, 4.3.3.6.6, 4.3.3.6.7, 4.3.3.6.8, 4.3.3.6.9, 4.3.3.7.1, 4.3.3.7.2, 4.3.3.7.3, 4.3.3.7.4, 4.3.4.4.7, 4.4.2.1, 4.4.2.2, 4.4.2.4, 4.4.3.3
isa-62443-2013SR 1.1, SR 1.10, SR 1.11, SR 1.12, SR 1.13, SR 1.2, SR 1.3, SR 1.4, SR 1.5, SR 1.6, SR 1.7, SR 1.8, SR 1.9, SR 2.1, SR 2.10, SR 2.11, SR 2.12, SR 2.2, SR 2.3, SR 2.4, SR 2.5, SR 2.6, SR 2.7, SR 2.8, SR 2.9, SR 3.1, SR 3.5, SR 3.8, SR 4.1, SR 4.3, SR 5.1, SR 5.2, SR 5.3, SR 7.1, SR 7.6
iso27001-2013A.10.1.1, A.11.1.4, A.11.1.5, A.11.2.1, A.12.1.1, A.12.1.2, A.12.4.1, A.12.4.2, A.12.4.3, A.12.4.4, A.12.7.1, A.13.1.1, A.13.1.2, A.13.1.3, A.13.2.1, A.13.2.2, A.13.2.3, A.13.2.4, A.14.1.2, A.14.1.3, A.6.1.2, A.7.1.1, A.7.1.2, A.7.3.1, A.8.2.2, A.8.2.3, A.9.1.1, A.9.1.2, A.9.2.1, A.9.2.3, A.9.4.1, A.9.4.4, A.9.4.5
nerc-cipCIP-003-8 R5.1.1, CIP-003-8 R5.2, CIP-003-8 R5.3, CIP-004-6 R2.2.3, CIP-004-6 R2.3, CIP-004-6 R3.3, CIP-007-3 R5.1, CIP-007-3 R5.1.2, CIP-007-3 R5.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.1, CIP-007-3 R5.3.2, CIP-007-3 R5.3.3, CIP-007-3 R6.5
nistAC-3, AC-3(3)(a), AU-9, SC-7(21)
nist-csfDE.AE-1, ID.AM-3, PR.AC-4, PR.AC-5, PR.AC-6, PR.DS-5, PR.PT-1, PR.PT-3, PR.PT-4
os-srgSRG-OS-000445-GPOS-00199, SRG-OS-000134-GPOS-00068
anssiR37, R79
bsiAPP.4.4.A4, SYS.1.6.A3
pcidss41.2.6, 1.2
app-srg-ctrCNTR-OS-000540
Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.