| name | cis-tomcat10-v110-4.2 |
| description | Restrict access to $CATALINA_BASE (Automated) |
| category | cis-tomcat |
| version | 1.1.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["cis","tomcat","linux","java","configuration","file-permissions"] |
| cis_id | 4.2 |
| cis_benchmark | CIS Apache Tomcat 10 Benchmark v1.1.0 |
| tech_stack | ["linux","tomcat","java"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | [] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {} |
Restrict access to $CATALINA_BASE (Automated)
Description
$CATALINA_BASE is the environment variable that specifies the base directory which most relative paths are resolved. $CATALINA_BASE is usually used when there are multiple instances of Tomcat running. It is important to protect access to this in order to protect the Tomcat-related binaries and libraries from unauthorized modification. It is recommended that the ownership of $CATALINA_BASE be tomcat_admin:tomcat. It is also recommended that the permission on $CATALINA_BASE block read, write, and execute for the world (o-rwx) and block write access to the group (g-w).
Rationale
The security of processes and data which traverse or depend on Tomcat may become compromised if the $CATALINA_BASE is not secured.
Audit Procedure
Perform the following to ensure the permission on the $CATALINA_BASE directory prevent unauthorized modification.
$ cd $CATALINA_BASE
$ find . -follow -maxdepth 0 \( -perm /o+rwx,g=w -o ! -user tomcat_admin -o ! -group tomcat \) -ls
The above command should not produce any output.
Remediation
Perform the following to establish the recommended state:
- Set the ownership of the
$CATALINA_BASE to tomcat_admin:tomcat.
- Remove write permissions for the group and read, write, and execute permissions for the world
CIS Controls
v8:
- 3.3 Configure Data Access Control Lists
v7:
- 14.6 Protect Information through Access Control Lists
Profile Applicability