User start-up files must not contain the mesg -y or mesg y command.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-4088	GEN001960	SV-4088r2_rule	ECSC-1	Low

Description
The mesg -y or mesg y command turns on terminal messaging. On systems that do not default to mesg -n, the system profile (or equivalent) provides it. If the user changes this setting, write access may be provided to the terminal screen which could disrupt processing or cause enough confusion to result in damage to sensitive files. Educate users about the danger of having terminal messaging set on.

Description

The mesg -y or mesg y command turns on terminal messaging. On systems that do not default to mesg -n, the system profile (or equivalent) provides it. If the user changes this setting, write access may be provided to the terminal screen which could disrupt processing or cause enough confusion to result in damage to sensitive files. Educate users about the danger of having terminal messaging set on.

STIG	Date
VMware ESX 3 Server	2016-05-13

Details

Check Text ( C-8218r2_chk )
# grep "mesg" //.* If local initialization files contain the mesg -y or mesg y command, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-4021r2_fix)
Edit the local initialization file(s) and remove the mesg -y command.