cyberstrikeus 13.19 Check for Presence of User .netrc Files (Scored)
Profile Applicability
- Level 1
Description
The .netrc file contains data for logging into a remote host for file transfers via FTP.
Rationale
The .netrc file presents a significant security risk since it stores passwords in unencrypted form. Even if FTP is disabled, user accounts may have brought over .netrc files from other systems which could pose a risk to those systems.
Audit Procedure
Using Command Line
#!/bin/bash
for dir in `/bin/cat /etc/passwd |\
/usr/bin/awk -F: '{ print $6 }'`; do
if [ ! -h "$dir/.netrc" -a -f "$dir/.netrc" ]; then
echo ".netrc file $dir/.netrc exists"
fi
done
Expected Result
No output should be returned. Any output indicates the presence of .netrc files in user home directories.
Remediation
Using Command Line
Making global modifications to users' files without alerting the user community can result in unexpected outages and unhappy users. Therefore, it is recommended that a monitoring policy be established to report user .netrc files and determine the action to be taken in accordance with site policy.
Default Value
No .netrc files exist by default on Ubuntu 12.04.
References
- CIS Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server Benchmark v1.1.0
Profile
Level 1 - Scored