cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-1-1

name	cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-1-1
description	Ensure cron daemon is enabled and running
category	cis-iam
version	2.0.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","ubuntu","linux","ubuntu-16.04","access-control"]
cis_id	5.1.1
cis_benchmark	CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0
tech_stack	["ubuntu","linux"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0 - 5.1.1

Profile Applicability

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation

Description

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

Note: Other methods, such as systemd timers, exist for scheduling jobs. If another method is used, cron should be removed, and the alternate method should be secured in accordance with local site policy.

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.

Impact

None.

Audit Procedure

Command Line

Run the following command to verify cron is enabled:

systemctl is-enabled cron

Run the following command to verify that cron is running:

systemctl status cron | grep 'Active: active (running) '

Expected Result

The first command should return:

enabled

The second command should return:

Active: active (running) since <Day Date Time>

Remediation

Command Line

Run the following command to enable and start cron:

systemctl --now enable cron

Default Value

By default, cron is enabled and running.

References

None.

CIS Controls

Controls Version	Control
v7	6 Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of Audit Logs

Assessment Status

Automated