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Sectool

Summary

The security audit tool and part of an intrusion detection system.

Owner

Current status

  • Targeted release: Fedora 12
  • Last updated: (Aug 24 2009)
  • Percentage of completion: 99,9%
  • RETIRED since Fedora 25

Detailed Description

The security tool that can be used both as a security audit as well as a part of an intrusion detection system. It consists of set of tests, library and textual/graphical frontend. Tests are sorted into groups and security levels. Administrators can run selected tests, groups or whole security levels.

Benefit to Fedora

Lower the attack surface by finding possible vulnerabilities, audit the system to find common problems to improve security and performance of scanning system. Encourage users to use Fedora on server and support other distributions based on Fedora like Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS

Scope

Already done:

  • Split the current program to backend mechanism and frontend pieces to separate user part and administrator part of application.
  • Dbus communication interface for backend
  • opotion for not using dbus
  • switch communication between backend and frontend to dbus and unix sockets
  • PolicyKit integration
  • Define policies for PolicyKit

Further plans:

  • Improve GUI
  • Better user authentication system

How To Test

There is no need for special hardware to test this feature.

install sectool and sectool-gui

$ yum install sectool*


Sanity testing

Test the most basic functions to make sure sectool is able to start, etc. 

  sectool --help

This should show a help for command line user interface 

  sectool --version

Shows the version of package. Make sure that the version string is correct. 

  sectool --list

Check that the level numbers are sane. Test globbing: 

  sectool --list \*home\*

Show information of some tests: 

  sectool --info <test>


Running the tests

Test that sectool is able to run tests.

  • Test running a single test in default level:
  sectool --run bootloader
  • Test running a single test in non-default level:
  sectool --level 5 --run bootloader

Bootloader is a good candidate since it should stay silent in the default level and ERROR in level 5

  • Test running multiple levels in default/nondefault mode:
  sectool --run bootloader home_files
  sectool --level 5 --run bootloader home_files
  • Test globbing:
  sectool --run \*home\*


Running a level

  • Run a level:
  sectool --level 5

Level 5 might be good if you have enough time, level 1 is probably OK for quick smoke testing.

  • Run a level via its nickname:
  sectool --level Desktop

The valid levels are: Naive, Desktop, Network, Server, Paranoid.

  • Exclude a test from its level:
  sectool --level 1 --exclude integrity

Check that all the tests in level 1 except for integrity ran.

  • Include a test into another level:
  sectool --level 1 --include path

Check that all the tests in level 1 and 'path' ran.


Display filters

  • Check that sectool display additional info when ran with --debug. A good candidate is home_files:
  sectool --run home_files --debug
  • Check that sectool displays hints when ran with --hint. A good candidate is mountopt:
  sectool --run mountopt --hint


Test auto action

  • Running a whole level via --action. Set the [ACTION] section of /etc/sectool/sectool.conf as follows:
         [ACTION]
         LEVEL=1

Run sectool --auto, whole level 1 should run.

  • Running some tests on a specific level. Set the [ACTION] section of /etc/sectool/sectool.conf as follows:
         [ACTION]
         LEVEL=5
         RUN=path bootloader

Run sectool --auto, tests path and bootloader should run on level 5.

  • Running some tests on a default level. Set the [ACTION] section of /etc/sectool/sectool.conf as follows:
         [ACTION]
         RUN=path bootloader

Run sectool --auto, tests path and bootloader should run default level.

  • Including and excluding tests from a level in the auto action. Set the [ACTION] section of /etc/sectool/sectool.conf as follows:
         [ACTION]
         LEVEL=1
         RUN=+bootloader -integrity

Run sectool --auto, level 1 should run excluding integrity and including bootloader.


Diff and sending a mail

  • Check that sectool is able to produce a meaningful diff
  sectool --run suid; chmod a+s /bin/cp; sectool --run suid --diff; chmod a-s /bin/cp
  • Sending email - vanilla config

that is SEND_BODY=diff SEND_ATTACHMENT=full make sure your sendmail is running and properly configured 

  sectool --run home_files --mail jhrozek@redhat.com
  • Sending email - full output in body, diff in attachment.
  Set SEND_ATTACHMENT=diff and SEND_BODY=full in /etc/sectool/sectool.conf
  • Sending email via SMTP server

the default is via sendmail configure your server, username and password in /etc/sectool/sectool.conf and change TARGET=smtp

  • Check the --clean action

run a test, make sure that results.xml exists 

 sectool --clean

should remove it

Overriding levels

  • Check that level can be added/removed via config file:
 echo "path 1 2" > ~/.sectoolrc

test a level that is not included in the dsc

  • Check that disabling all levels work:
 echo "path" > ~/.sectoolrc

Logging

  • See /var/log/sectool.log is created, filled and properly formated
  • Check that logrotate handles sectool.log


DBus testing

  • Test non-dbus communication by running sectool, e.g.:
  sectool -r vsftpd
  • Test dbus sectool by running with option --use-dbus:
  sectool --use-dbus -r vsftpd

Should end with no authorization message 

  sectool --use-dbus --list

Should show the list of tests

GUI testing

  • Test PolicyKit authentification by running sectool-gui
  • Test sectool-gui tool by:
    • running tests
    • running level
    • clear cache data
    • stop performing tests

GUI tool should react swiftly without delay, stoping tests should be with approximately 2s delay by stopping all threads.


User Experience

Users will have option to audit their system to improve security and performance. Users can choose between command line testing through dbus (or without dbus) and GUI testing tool. The whole system will be less vulnerable to attack.

Dependencies

  • sectool-gui

Contingency Plan

This feature is not critical. Revert to previous release in case that could not be complete by the final feature freeze.

Documentation

Filed Bugs

Release Notes

  • Sectool is a security tool that can be used both as a security audit as well as a part of an intrusion detection system. It consists of set of tests, library and textual/graphical frontend. Tests are sorted into groups and security levels. Administrators can run selected tests, groups or whole security levels.
  • Sectool is now using PolicyKit and dbus for better security in authentication actions.

Comments and Discussion

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