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The RHEL 8 file system automounter must be disabled unless required.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-230502 RHEL-08-040070 SV-230502r627750_rule Medium
Description
Automatically mounting file systems permits easy introduction of unknown devices, thereby facilitating malicious activity.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2021-03-04

Details

Check Text ( C-33171r568252_chk )
Verify the operating system disables the ability to automount devices.

Check to see if automounter service is active with the following command:

Note: If the autofs service is not installed, this requirement is not applicable.

$ sudo systemctl status autofs

autofs.service - Automounts filesystems on demand
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/autofs.service; disabled)
Active: inactive (dead)

If the "autofs" status is set to "active" and is not documented with the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) as an operational requirement, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-33146r568253_fix)
Configure the operating system to disable the ability to automount devices.

Turn off the automount service with the following commands:

$ sudo systemctl stop autofs
$ sudo systemctl disable autofs

If "autofs" is required for Network File System (NFS), it must be documented with the ISSO.