Title

RHEL 8 must disable core dumps for all users. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

It is detrimental for operating systems to provide, or install by default, functionality exceeding requirements or mission objectives. These unnecessary capabilities or services are often overlooked and therefore, may remain unsecured. They increase the risk to the platform by providing additional attack vectors. A core dump includes a memory image taken at the time the operating system terminates an application. The memory image could contain sensitive data and is generally useful only for developers trying to debug problems.

Check Content

Note: If kernel dumps are disabled in accordance with RHEL-08-010671, this requirement is not applicable. Verify RHEL 8 disables core dumps for all users by issuing the following command: $ grep -r -s core /etc/security/limits.conf /etc/security/limits.d/*.conf /etc/security/limits.conf:* hard core 0 This can be set as a global domain (with the * wildcard) but may be set differently for multiple domains. If the "core" item is missing or commented out, or the value is anything other than "0", and the need for core dumps is not documented with the information system security officer (ISSO) as an operational requirement for all domains that have the "core" item assigned, this is a finding. If entries exist for users or groups with a value set to anything other than "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the operating system to disable core dumps for all users. Add the following line to the top of the /etc/security/limits.conf or in a single ".conf" file defined in /etc/security/limits.d/: * hard core 0 Remove or comment out any entries for users or groups with a value set to anything other than "0".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-230313r1155379_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-230313

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

Expert Comments

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