RHEL 9 debug-shell systemd service must be disabled.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257786	RHEL-09-211055	SV-257786r958726_rule		Medium

Description
The debug-shell requires no authentication and provides root privileges to anyone who has physical access to the machine. While this feature is disabled by default, masking it adds an additional layer of assurance that it will not be enabled via a dependency in systemd. This also prevents attackers with physical access from trivially bypassing security on the machine through valid troubleshooting configurations and gaining root access when the system is rebooted. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Description

The debug-shell requires no authentication and provides root privileges to anyone who has physical access to the machine. While this feature is disabled by default, masking it adds an additional layer of assurance that it will not be enabled via a dependency in systemd. This also prevents attackers with physical access from trivially bypassing security on the machine through valid troubleshooting configurations and gaining root access when the system is rebooted. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-06-04

Details

Check Text ( C-61527r925343_chk )
Verify RHEL 9 is configured to mask the debug-shell systemd service with the following command: $ sudo systemctl status debug-shell.service debug-shell.service Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit debug-shell.service is masked.) Active: inactive (dead) If the "debug-shell.service" is loaded and not masked, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61451r943025_fix)
Configure RHEL 9 to mask the debug-shell systemd service with the following command: $ sudo systemctl disable --now debug-shell.service $ sudo systemctl mask --now debug-shell.service