cis-ubuntu-14-04-lts-5-1-1-ensure-cron-daemon-is-enabled

name	CIS Ubuntu 14.04 LTS - 5.1.1 Ensure cron daemon is enabled
description	Verify the cron daemon is enabled to execute scheduled batch jobs on the system
category	cis-os-hardening
version	2.1.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","ubuntu","ubuntu-14.04","level-1","scored","cron"]
cis_id	5.1.1
cis_benchmark	CIS Ubuntu Linux 14.04 LTS Benchmark v2.1.0
tech_stack	["ubuntu","linux"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	medium

5.1.1 Ensure cron daemon is enabled (Scored)

Profile Applicability

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation

Description

The cron daemon is used to execute batch jobs on the system.

Rationale

While there may not be user jobs that need to be run on the system, the system does have maintenance jobs that may include security monitoring that have to run, and cron is used to execute them.

Audit Procedure

Ensure proper start conditions listed for cron:

/sbin/initctl show-config cron

Expected Result

cron
  start on runlevel [2345]
  stop on runlevel [!2345]

Remediation

Edit start lines in /etc/init/cron.conf to match the following:

start on runlevel [2345]

Default Value

Enabled by default on Ubuntu 14.04.

References

• CIS Controls: 6 - Maintenance, Monitoring, and Analysis of Audit Logs

Profile

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation