cis-cassandra311-1-6

name	cis-cassandra311-1.6
description	Ensure clocks are synchronized on all nodes
category	cis-cassandra
version	1.1.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","cassandra","installation","ntp"]
cis_id	1.6
cis_benchmark	CIS Apache Cassandra 3.11 Benchmark v1.1.0
tech_stack	["cassandra"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

1.6 Ensure clocks are synchronized on all nodes

Profile Applicability

• Level 1 - Cassandra on Linux
• Level 2 - Cassandra on Linux

Description

Enabling Network Time Protocol (NTP), or some equivalent way, to keep clocks on all nodes in sync is critical.

Rationale

Cassandra decides which data is most current between all of the nodes in the cluster based on timestamps. It is paramount to ensure all clocks are in-sync, otherwise the most current data may not be returned or worse, marked for deletion.

Audit

Depending on the Linux installation this may be checked by executing the following command on each node:

ps -aef | grep ntp

OR

ps -aef | grep chronyd

If NTP is not configured or clocks are out-of-sync then this is a finding.

Remediation

Install and start the time protocol on every node in the Cassandra cluster.

Default Value

No default time synchronization is configured.

References

Not specified in the benchmark.

CIS Controls

• v8: 8.4 Standardize Time Synchronization
• v7: 6.1 Utilize Three Synchronized Time Sources

Profile

• Level 1 | Manual