Title

Global initialization files must contain the mesg -n or mesg n commands. (Cat III impact)

Discussion

If the "mesg -n" or "mesg n" command is not placed into the system profile, messaging can be used to cause a Denial of Service attack.

Check Content

Check global initialization files for the presence of "mesg -n" or "mesg n". Procedure: # grep "mesg" /etc/bash.bashrc /etc/csh.cshrc /etc/csh.login /etc/environment /etc/ksh.kshrc /etc/profile /etc/profile.d/* /etc/zshrc If no global initialization files contain "mesg -n" or "mesg n", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Edit /etc/profile or another global initialization script, and add the "mesg -n" command.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-45106r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-825

Group Title: GEN001780

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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