Each time you work on a new Linux hardening job, you need to create a new document that has all the checklist items listed in this post, and you need to check off every item you applied on the system. Computer security training, certification and free resources. Penetration Testing, Top Five Exploited Vulnerabilities By Chinese State-Sponsored Actors, Write down all relevant machine details – hostname, IP address, MAC address, OS version, Disable shell or elevated access for standard/built-in users, Disable all unnecessary running services (init.d and xinetd), Uninstall/disable all unnecessary or insecure apps (ftp, telnet, X11), Schedule backup of log files and lock down directory storage, Separate disk partitions – /usr, /home, /var & /var/tmp, /tmp, Enable a strong policy (minimum length, blend of character types, etc), Use a strong hashing algorithm like SHA512, Create a “lock account after X failed login attempts” policy, Make sure all accounts have a password set, Verify no non-root account have a UID set to 0 (full permissions to machine), Disable either IPv4 or IPv6 depending on what’s not used, Use an IP whitelist to control who can use SSH, Set chmod 0700 for all cron tasks so only the root account can see them, Delete symlinks and disable their creation (more info, Encrypt communication – SSH, VPNs, rsync, PGP, SSL, SFTP, GPG, Make sure no files have no owner specified. Make sure that root cannot login remotely through SSH: Set the PASS_MAX_DAYS parameter to 90 in “/etc/login.defs”. Stay up to date on what's happening in technology, leadership, skill development and more. The boot directory contains important files related to the Linux kernel, so you need to make sure that this directory is locked down to read-only permissions by following the next simple steps. Ghassan Khawaja holds a BS degree in computer Science, he specializes in .NET development and IT security including C# .NET, asp.Net, HTML5 and ethical hacking. Most people assume that Linux is already secure, and that’s a false assumption. Change the active user by executing the following command : Adding hard core 0 to the “/etc/security/limits.conf” file, Adding fs.suid_dumpable = 0 to the “/etc/sysctl.conf” file, Adding kernel.exec-shield = 1 to the “/etc/sysctl.conf” file, Adding kernel.randomize_va_space = 2 to the “/etc/sysctl.conf” file, Access thousands of videos to develop critical skills, Give up to 10 users access to thousands of video courses, Practice and apply skills with interactive courses and projects, See skills, usage, and trend data for your teams, Prepare for certifications with industry-leading practice exams, Measure proficiency across skills and roles, Align learning to your goals with paths and channels. Ubuntu desktops and servers need to be configured to improve the security defenses to an optimal level. By Gus Khawaja. A sticky bit is a single bit that, when set, prevents users from deleting someone else’s directories. Configuring your iptables rules will take some time, but it’s worth the pain. Linux Security Cheatsheet (DOC) Linux Security Cheatsheet (ODT) Linux Security Cheatsheet (PDF) Lead Simeon Blatchley is the Team Leader for this cheatsheet, if you have comments or questions, please e-mail Simeon at: simeon@linkxrdp.com We specialize in computer/network security, digital forensics, application security and IT audit. Here’s an example of how to list the packages installed on Kali Linux: Remember that disabling unnecessary services will reduce the attack surface, so it is important to remove the following legacy services if you found them installed on the Linux server: Identifying open connections to the internet is a critical mission. User Accounts : User Account Passwords ; User Accounts . First, open the “fstab” file. We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. An InfoSec Manager’s Guide to the Cybersecurity Act of 2015. Checklist Summary: . For reference, we are using a Centos based server. There are multiple ways to deny the usage of USB storage; here’s a popular one: Open the “blacklist.conf” file using your favorite text editor: When the file opens, then add the following line at the end of the file (save and close): The first thing to do after the first boot is to update the system; this should be an easy step. sudo chown root:root /swapfile sudo chmod 0600 /swapfile # Prepare the swap file by creating a Linux swap area. Linux Server Hardening Checklist Documentation Another password policy that should be forced is strong passwords. Daily Update Checks Software and Updates Important Updates : Software Updater . But, we’ve just scratched the surface of Linux Hardening—there are a lot of complex, nitty-gritty configurations. To make this happen, you need to open the file “/etc/pam.d/password-auth” and add the following lines: We’re not done yet; one additional step is needed. 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