Title

PostgreSQL must implement NIST FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 validated cryptographic modules to generate and validate cryptographic hashes. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Use of weak or untested encryption algorithms undermines the purposes of using encryption to protect data. The application must implement cryptographic modules adhering to the higher standards approved by the federal government since this provides assurance they have been tested and validated. For detailed information, refer to NIST FIPS Publication 140-3, Security Requirements For Cryptographic Modules. Note that the product's cryptographic modules must be validated and certified by NIST as FIPS compliant.

Check Content

As the system administrator, run the following to ensure FIPS is enabled: $ cat /proc/sys/crypto/fips_enabled If fips_enabled is not "1", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure OpenSSL to be FIPS compliant. PostgreSQL uses OpenSSL for cryptographic modules. To configure OpenSSL to be FIPS 140-2 compliant, refer to the official RHEL Documentation: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/html/security_hardening/using-the-system-wide-cryptographic-policies_security-hardening#switching-the-system-to-fips-mode_using-the-system-wide-cryptographic-policies. For more information on configuring PostgreSQL to use SSL, refer to supplementary content APPENDIX-G.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-261965r1000964_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-261965

Group Title: SRG-APP-000514-DB-000382

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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