ansible-lockdown/RHEL7-STIG

Update for RHEL7 STIG V3R1 Released 24 October 2020

Michael-Angel-Sec opened this issue · 4 comments

Michael-Angel-Sec commented

V3R1 Release Notes:

Should these each have separate issues?

  • DISA migrated the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 STIG to a new content management system. The new content management system renumbered all Groups (V-numbers) and Rules (SV-numbers).
    With the new Group and Rule numbers, DISA incremented the version number from V2R8 to V3R1.
  • RHEL-07-010340 - Updated check content and finding statement to require documented authorized use of "NOPASSWD" or "!authenticate".
  • RHEL-07-020210, RHEL-07-020220, RHEL-07030000 - Downgraded to a CAT II.
  • RHEL-07-021031 - Added requirement to check that world-writable directories are owned by root, sys, bin, or an application account.
  • RHEL-07-021340 - Fixed typo in check text finding statement from "and" to "or".
  • RHEL-07-021350 - Updated check and fix text to verify existence of a key file for FIPS compliance.
  • RHEL-07-030210, RHEL-07-030211, RHEL-07030320, RHEL-07-030321 - Updated check text to allow for additional methods of audit log off-load.
  • RHEL-07-040730 - Generalized overall requirement to cover any graphical display managers.
  • RHEL-07-910055 - Added requirement to protect audit information.

N/A No Ansible changes - RHEL-07-020030, RHEL-07-020040 - Updated check text example output.
N/A No Ansible changes: - RHEL-07-020111 - Added not applicable statement to the check text.
N/A No Ansible changes - - RHEL-07-010010 - Fixed typos in the check text command.
N/A No Ansible changes - - RHEL-07-021030 - Updated vulnerability discussion, check, and fix to elaborate possible group owners.

jamescassell commented

Thanks for the summary. Usually we do checklists in the single issue per update, and check them off as they get done.

cyberxml commented

This response leaves me uncertain of the project position. Is the intent of the project owners to move the baseline forward to
RHEL7 STIG V3R1 Released 24 October 2020 ?

If so, how are you planning to manage that evolution? I have cycles I can devote to providing updates/fixes/changes if they are desired.

  • 👍1
georgenalen commented

Hello,
I wanted to reach out and let you know that this issue will be closed on 2/23 (if everything stays on track). We have re-worked the role and want to start with a fresh issues list with this latest version. There was a post in the Ansible-Lockdown google group (https://groups.google.com/g/ansible-lockdown) with the details of the changes that are coming. Please checkout the thread titled RHEL 7 CIS and STIG Changes for all of the details, I also have the message pasted at below.

Please as you use the latest version open issue tickets as you find them, it is the best way for us to improve the role for everyone. Thank you for being part of the community and providing awareness of problems or advice on improvement. Reporting is a huge part of improving this project.

Hello,
Thank you to everyone in the Ansible-Lockdown community who has contributed to RHEL7 STIG/CIS. Our team at MindPoint Group has been working with the entirety of the Ansible-Lockdown project, and we have some significant updates for both RHEL 7 STIG and CIS. With these updates, some larger changes have been made. I have these changes/updates outlined below.

Testing:

  1. CI/CD - We have implemented some automated testing pipelines to test pull requests into the devel and main branches. With the current workflow, the community will PR into the devel branch (never the main branch) for review by the administrators. When your PR is created, the first check will remain the DCO check. The second check is a functional testing pipeline that will automatically perform a functional test of the branch the PR is initiated from. Once both tests pass, someone from the Administrator Team will review the changes and merge them into the devel branch. From there, an additional review is completed before the devel branch is merged into the main branch. Only the Admin Team will perform PRs/merges into the main branch. There is also an automated pipeline for PRs from devel to main. Please do not edit the .github/workflows files since those are used as part of the pipeline.

  2. Compliance Checking – MindPoint Group has been working to create our own compliance audit scan tool. The tool uses a goss framework executable to run custom checks that we have created. The goal is to provide a more thorough check for control compliance and decrease the number of false positives/negatives. For example, it will check the configuration file related to the control and as well as checking if that configuration is active. With a smarter scan, we can hopefully identify attempts to trick scanners as well (for example stacking a parameter in a config file where the first instance is enabled and second disabled. Most audit tools search for the first instance but the application might look for the last instance of the parameter, thus making the scanning tool think it's enabled). In testing, we have found that our audit scan runs significantly faster than other audit tools, reducing audit times. Our audit tool and profiles will have their own repositories in the Ansible-Lockdown org, but within the remediation role there will be an integrated way to incorporate the audit. Keep an eye out for the audit tools as they are released. We plan on developing a goss audit profile for each current remediation role. Going forward, we plan to release a remediation role and goss audit tool profile simultaneously.

Role Updates:

  1. RHEL 7 STIG/CIS – We have re-written much of the RHEL 7 STIG and CIS roles to increase clarity and readability and address some functionality items. We performed these updates while creating our goss testing framework for each of these roles. We plan on pushing our update to the devel and main branches. We will move the current devel and master branches to a devel_stable_ and master_stable_ branch in the respective repositories. Accordingly, community members who rely on the current version can still use that version going forward; this process will not remove what is currently there. The latest versions of the roles have also been updated to comply with the latest benchmarks.
  2. Role Architecture – All roles will change with regard to the structure in the tasks folder. Taking CIS as an example, there will be a folder per section and yaml files for each sub-section. For example control 1.2.1 in CIS will be located in RHEL7-CIS/tasks/section_1/cis_1.2.x.yml. The cis_1.2.x.yml file will contain all controls related to section 1.2.x. This will hopefully make updates to roles a bit easier with less risk. This matches the architecture of our audit tool, creating consistency across remediation and audit platforms. The end goal is to repeat this architecture (the best we can) on STIG roles, but we are starting with CIS.
  3. Existing PRs and Issues – With all of these changes comes the task of cleaning up existing PR’s and issues. Our plan is to close all of the existing PR’s and issues because of the re-work. Our team is growing and should be able to stay on top of the new issues and PRs as they come in.

Again, I would like to thank the community for your involvement in this project. The input and work from the community has contributed significantly to the success of this project. Please keep an eye out for these changes, which will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

georgenalen commented

Hello,
I wanted to reach out and let you know that this issue is being closed. We have re-worked the role and want to start with a fresh issues list with this latest version. There was a post in the Ansible-Lockdown google group (https://groups.google.com/g/ansible-lockdown) with the details of the changes that are coming. Please checkout the thread titled RHEL 7 CIS and STIG Changes for all of the details, I also have the message pasted at below.
Please as you use the latest version and open issue tickets as you find them, it is the best way for us to improve the role for everyone. Thank you for being part of the community and providing awareness of problems or advice on improvement. Reporting is a huge part of improving this project.

Hello,
Thank you to everyone in the Ansible-Lockdown community who has contributed to RHEL7 STIG/CIS. Our team at MindPoint Group has been working with the entirety of the Ansible-Lockdown project, and we have some significant updates for both RHEL 7 STIG and CIS. With these updates, some larger changes have been made. I have these changes/updates outlined below.
Testing:

  1. CI/CD - We have implemented some automated testing pipelines to test pull requests into the devel and main branches. With the current workflow, the community will PR into the devel branch (never the main branch) for review by the administrators. When your PR is created, the first check will remain the DCO check. The second check is a functional testing pipeline that will automatically perform a functional test of the branch the PR is initiated from. Once both tests pass, someone from the Administrator Team will review the changes and merge them into the devel branch. From there, an additional review is completed before the devel branch is merged into the main branch. Only the Admin Team will perform PRs/merges into the main branch. There is also an automated pipeline for PRs from devel to main. Please do not edit the .github/workflows files since those are used as part of the pipeline.
  2. Compliance Checking – MindPoint Group has been working to create our own compliance audit scan tool. The tool uses a goss framework executable to run custom checks that we have created. The goal is to provide a more thorough check for control compliance and decrease the number of false positives/negatives. For example, it will check the configuration file related to the control and as well as checking if that configuration is active. With a smarter scan, we can hopefully identify attempts to trick scanners as well (for example stacking a parameter in a config file where the first instance is enabled and second disabled. Most audit tools search for the first instance but the application might look for the last instance of the parameter, thus making the scanning tool think it's enabled). In testing, we have found that our audit scan runs significantly faster than other audit tools, reducing audit times. Our audit tool and profiles will have their own repositories in the Ansible-Lockdown org, but within the remediation role there will be an integrated way to incorporate the audit. Keep an eye out for the audit tools as they are released. We plan on developing a goss audit profile for each current remediation role. Going forward, we plan to release a remediation role and goss audit tool profile simultaneously.
    Role Updates:
  3. RHEL 7 STIG/CIS – We have re-written much of the RHEL 7 STIG and CIS roles to increase clarity and readability and address some functionality items. We performed these updates while creating our goss testing framework for each of these roles. We plan on pushing our update to the devel and main branches. We will move the current devel and master branches to a devel_stable_ and master_stable_ branch in the respective repositories. Accordingly, community members who rely on the current version can still use that version going forward; this process will not remove what is currently there. The latest versions of the roles have also been updated to comply with the latest benchmarks.
  4. Role Architecture – All roles will change with regard to the structure in the tasks folder. Taking CIS as an example, there will be a folder per section and yaml files for each sub-section. For example control 1.2.1 in CIS will be located in RHEL7-CIS/tasks/section_1/cis_1.2.x.yml. The cis_1.2.x.yml file will contain all controls related to section 1.2.x. This will hopefully make updates to roles a bit easier with less risk. This matches the architecture of our audit tool, creating consistency across remediation and audit platforms. The end goal is to repeat this architecture (the best we can) on STIG roles, but we are starting with CIS.
  5. Existing PRs and Issues – With all of these changes comes the task of cleaning up existing PR’s and issues. Our plan is to close all of the existing PR’s and issues because of the re-work. Our team is growing and should be able to stay on top of the new issues and PRs as they come in.
    Again, I would like to thank the community for your involvement in this project. The input and work from the community has contributed significantly to the success of this project. Please keep an eye out for these changes, which will be rolling out in the coming weeks