cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-7

name	cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-7
description	Ensure access to the su command is restricted
category	cis-iam
version	2.0.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","ubuntu","linux","ubuntu-16.04","authentication","pam"]
cis_id	5.7
cis_benchmark	CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0
tech_stack	["ubuntu","linux"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

Ensure access to the su command is restricted

Profile Applicability:

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation

Assessment Status: Automated

Description

The su command allows a user to run a command or shell as another user. The program has been superseded by sudo, which allows for more granular control over privileged access. Normally, the su command can be executed by any user. By adding, or uncommenting, the pam_wheel.so statement in /etc/pam.d/su, the su command will only allow users in a specific group to execute su. This group should be empty to reinforce the use of sudo for privileged access.

Rationale

Restricting the use of su, and using sudo in its place, provides system administrators better control of the escalation of user privileges to execute privileged commands. The sudo utility also provides a better logging and audit mechanism, as it can log each command executed via sudo, whereas su can only record that a user executed the su program.

Audit Procedure

Command Line

Run the following command and verify the output matches the line:

grep pam_wheel.so /etc/pam.d/su

Expected output:

auth required pam_wheel.so use_uid group=<group_name>

Run the following command and verify that the group specified in <group_name> contains no users:

grep <group_name> /etc/group

Expected output:

<group_name>:x:<GID>:

There should be no users listed after the Group ID field.

Remediation

Command Line

Create an empty group that will be specified for use of the su command. The group should be named according to site policy.

Example:

groupadd sugroup

Add the following line to the /etc/pam.d/su file, specifying the empty group:

Example:

auth required pam_wheel.so use_uid group=sugroup