Title

AIX system must prevent the root account from directly logging in except from the system console. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Limiting the root account direct logins to only system consoles protects the root account from direct unauthorized access from a non-console device. A common attack method of potential hackers is to obtain the root password. To avoid this type of attack, disable direct access to the root ID and then require system administrators to obtain root privileges by using the su - command. In addition to permitting removal of the root user as a point of attack, restricting direct root access permits monitoring which users gained root access, as well as the time of their action. Do this by viewing the /var/adm/sulog file. Another alternative is to enable system auditing, which will report this type of activity. To disable remote login access for the root user, edit the /etc/security/user file. Specify False as the rlogin value on the entry for root.

Check Content

Check the remote login ability of the root account using command: # lsuser -a rlogin root root rlogin=false If the "rlogin" value is not "false", this is a finding.

Fix Text

From the command prompt, run the following command to set "rlogin=false" for the root stanza in "/etc/security/user": # chsec -f /etc/security/user -s root -a rlogin=false

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-215189r991589_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-215189

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.