Title

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must not have the "systemd-timesyncd" package installed. (Cat III impact)

Discussion

Inaccurate time stamps make it more difficult to correlate events and can lead to an inaccurate analysis. Determining the correct time a particular event occurred on a system is critical when conducting forensic analysis and investigating system events. Sources outside the configured acceptable allowance (drift) may be inaccurate. Organizations must consider endpoints that may not have regular access to the authoritative time server (e.g., mobile, teleworking, and tactical endpoints).

Check Content

Verify the "systemd-timesyncd" package is not installed with the following command: $ dpkg -l | grep systemd-timesyncd If the "systemd-timesyncd" package is installed, this is a finding.

Fix Text

The "systemd-timesyncd" package will be uninstalled as part of the "chrony" package install. Purge the remaining configuration files for "systemd-timesyncd" from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS: $ sudo apt-get purge systemd-timesyncd

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-270645r1068357_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-270645

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.