cis-cassandra40-v110-3-5

name	cis-cassandra40-v110-3.5
description	Ensure that Cassandra only listens for network connections on authorized interfaces
category	cis-cassandra
version	1.1.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","cassandra","access-control","network","interfaces"]
cis_id	3.5
cis_benchmark	CIS Apache Cassandra 4.0 Benchmark v1.1.0
tech_stack	["cassandra"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

3.5 Ensure that Cassandra only listens for network connections on authorized interfaces

Profile Applicability

• Level 1 - Cassandra on Linux

Description

When listen_address is blank and listen_interface is commented out, this will be set automatically by InetAddress.getLocalHost(). Presuming the node is configured correctly, e.g. hostname, name resolution, etc., this will configure the node to use the address associated with the hostname. The listen_address must not be set to 0.0.0.0.

Rationale

Setting the address or interface to bind to will tell other Cassandra nodes to which address or interface to connect. This must be changed from the default in order for multiple nodes to be able to communicate.

Audit

Check the value of listen_address or listen_interface in the cassandra.yaml. If listen_address is set 0.0.0.0 or a non-authorized address or interface is specified, this is a finding.

Remediation

Set the listen_address or listen_interface, not both, in the cassandra.yaml to an authorized address or interface.

Default Value

listen_address: localhost
listen_interface: eth0

but is commented out by default.

References

1. http://cassandra.apache.org/doc/3.11/configuration/cassandra_config_file.html#listen-address
2. http://cassandra.apache.org/doc/3.11/configuration/cassandra_config_file.html#listen-interface

CIS Controls

v8:

• 4.4 Implement and Manage a Firewall on Servers - Implement and manage a firewall on servers, where supported. Example implementations include a virtual firewall, operating system firewall, or a third-party firewall agent.

v7:

• 9.2 Ensure Only Approved Ports, Protocols and Services Are Running - Ensure that only network ports, protocols, and services listening on a system with validated business needs, are running on each system.

Profile

• Level 1 | Manual