The Photon operating system must be configured to audit the execution of privileged functions.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256489	PHTN-30-000012	SV-256489r887141_rule		Medium

Description
Misuse of privileged functions, either intentionally or unintentionally by authorized users, or by unauthorized external entities that have compromised information system accounts, is a serious and ongoing concern and can have significant adverse impacts on organizations. Auditing all actions by superusers is one way to detect such misuse and identify the risk from insider threats and the advanced persistent threat.

Description

Misuse of privileged functions, either intentionally or unintentionally by authorized users, or by unauthorized external entities that have compromised information system accounts, is a serious and ongoing concern and can have significant adverse impacts on organizations. Auditing all actions by superusers is one way to detect such misuse and identify the risk from insider threats and the advanced persistent threat.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-60164r887139_chk )
At the command line, run the following command: # auditctl -l \| grep execve Expected result: -a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding. Note: This check depends on the auditd service to be in a running state for accurate results. Enabling the auditd service is done in control PHTN-30-000013.

Check Text ( C-60164r887139_chk )

At the command line, run the following command:

# auditctl -l | grep execve

Expected result:

-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Note: This check depends on the auditd service to be in a running state for accurate results. Enabling the auditd service is done in control PHTN-30-000013.

Fix Text (F-60107r887140_fix)
Navigate to and open: /etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules Add the following lines: -a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv At the command line, run the following command to load the new audit rules: # /sbin/augenrules --load Note: A new "audit.STIG.rules" file is provided for placement in "/etc/audit/rules.d" that contains all rules needed for auditd. Note: An older "audit.STIG.rules" may exist if the file exists and references older "GEN" SRG IDs. This file can be removed and replaced as necessary with an updated one.

Fix Text (F-60107r887140_fix)

Navigate to and open:

/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules

Add the following lines:

-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C uid!=euid -F euid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S execve -C gid!=egid -F egid=0 -F key=execpriv

At the command line, run the following command to load the new audit rules:

# /sbin/augenrules --load

Note: A new "audit.STIG.rules" file is provided for placement in "/etc/audit/rules.d" that contains all rules needed for auditd.

Note: An older "audit.STIG.rules" may exist if the file exists and references older "GEN" SRG IDs. This file can be removed and replaced as necessary with an updated one.