The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the file integrity tool is configured to verify extended attributes.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-204499	RHEL-07-021610	SV-204499r880858_rule		Low

Description
Extended attributes in file systems are used to contain arbitrary data and file metadata with security implications.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-03-08

Details

Check Text ( C-4623r880857_chk )
Verify the file integrity tool is configured to verify extended attributes. Note: AIDE is highly configurable at install time. These commands assume the "aide.conf" file is under the "/etc" directory. Use the following command to determine if the file is in another location: # find / -name aide.conf Check the "aide.conf" file to determine if the "xattrs" rule has been added to the rule list being applied to the files and directories selection lists. An example rule that includes the "xattrs" rule follows: All= p+i+n+u+g+s+m+S+sha512+acl+xattrs+selinux /bin All # apply the custom rule to the files in bin /sbin All # apply the same custom rule to the files in sbin If the "xattrs" rule is not being used on all uncommented selection lines in the "/etc/aide.conf" file, or extended attributes are not being checked by another file integrity tool, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-4623r880857_chk )

Verify the file integrity tool is configured to verify extended attributes.

Note: AIDE is highly configurable at install time. These commands assume the "aide.conf" file is under the "/etc" directory.

Use the following command to determine if the file is in another location:
# find / -name aide.conf

Check the "aide.conf" file to determine if the "xattrs" rule has been added to the rule list being applied to the files and directories selection lists.

An example rule that includes the "xattrs" rule follows:

All= p+i+n+u+g+s+m+S+sha512+acl+xattrs+selinux
/bin All # apply the custom rule to the files in bin
/sbin All # apply the same custom rule to the files in sbin

If the "xattrs" rule is not being used on all uncommented selection lines in the "/etc/aide.conf" file, or extended attributes are not being checked by another file integrity tool, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-4623r88690_fix)
Configure the file integrity tool to check file and directory extended attributes. If AIDE is installed, ensure the "xattrs" rule is present on all uncommented file and directory selection lists.