Title

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server package installed unless needed. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

The FTP service provides an unencrypted remote access that does not provide for the confidentiality and integrity of user passwords or the remote session. If a privileged user were to log on using this service, the privileged user password could be compromised. SSH or other encrypted file transfer methods must be used in place of this service.

Check Content

Verify an FTP server has not been installed on the system. Check to see if an FTP server has been installed with the following commands: # yum list installed vsftpd vsftpd-3.0.2.el7.x86_64.rpm If "vsftpd" is installed and is not documented with the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) as an operational requirement, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Document the "vsftpd" package with the ISSO as an operational requirement or remove it from the system with the following command: # yum remove vsftpd

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204620r603261_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204620

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.