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Securing SSH Using Denyhosts

Submitted by david23 on Sun, 08/26/2007 - 11:50

SSH is a great way to remotely administer a server. However, it still has a number of issues when you open it up to the world. The server and client communications are secure but that doesn’t mean the hosts involved are. Opening an SSH service to the world allows for brute force attacks and means that the carbon interface is still the weakest link.

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services that are not necessary on a web server

Submitted by sandip on Tue, 08/21/2007 - 15:45

These are some services I would normally turn off on web servers.
NOTE: usage may vary.

  1. gpm -- mouse
  2. mdmonitor -- monitor raid devices
  3. netfs -- nfs, samba etc...
  4. autofs -- automount, nfs, cd etc...
  5. kudzu -- detect new hardware
  6. restorecond -- monitor selinux file context
  7. mcstrans -- mandatory access control selinux translation
  8. messagebus -- routes messages between applications
  9. haldaemon -- maintains database of devices connected

There may be more, but if you've cleaned up your rpm packages, it would probably not exist.

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rpm packages not necessary for a web server

Submitted by sandip on Tue, 08/21/2007 - 15:37

Below is a list of rpm packages that are not necessary on a web server. Use it as a reference starting point for cleaning up servers. You may also want to make sure not to run services not required by the server.
NOTE: usage may vary and removal should be in the order listed:

  1. redhat-lsb cups system-config-printer-libs system-config-printer paps -- printer support

  2. system-config-soundcard  -- gui for sound setup

  3. system-config-securitylevel-tui -- gui for setting up security

  4. nfs-utils system-config-nfs nfs-utils-lib -- nfs server

  5. portmap -- manage RPC connections
  6. ypbind yp-tools -- NIS client binding
  7. htmlview  -- view webpages via gui

  8. system-config-services system-config-samba pinfo system-config-users system-config-date -- gui configs

  9. samba samba-client samba-common -- samba support

  10. oprofile oprofile-devel oprofile-gui qt
  11. vnc
  12. libglade2 libgnomecanvas usermode-gtk libbonoboui libgnomeui libglade-java pygtk2-libglade system-config-httpd system-config-network gnome-mount libgnome-java gnome-python2-bonobo gnome-python2-canvas gnome-python2 authconfig-gtk system-config-lvm authconfig-gtk pirut gnome-vfs2 gnome-python2-gnomevfs gnome-python2-gconf libgnome libgsf librsvg2 librsvg2
    ImageMagick
  13. gnome-mime-data gnome-keyring  notify-python

  14. GConf2 notification-daemon bluez-gnome libgconf-java libnotify bluez-utils
  15. libgtk-java libvte-java
  16. pygtk2 system-config-language system-config-rootpassword
  17. vte
  18. libwnck
  19. glib-java cairo-java frysk
  20. libwmf
  21. gtk2
  22. cups-libs

  23. ghostscript ghostscript-fonts

  24. avahi avahi-glib
  25. wpa_supplicant NetworkManager
  26. system-config-rootpassword
  27. system-config-language

  28. system-config-keyboard
  29. system-config-network-tui firstboot-tui
  30. system-config-securitylevel-tui
  31. dhcpv6_client dhcdbd dhclient -- dhcp support

  32. irda-utils -- Infra Red communications
  33. isdn4k-utils -- ISDN
  34. apmd -- laptop power management
  35. cpuspeed -- dynamically changing cpu speed
  36. bluez-libs -- bluetooth
  37. irqbalance -- irq load balancing on multi-cpus (remove only in single cpu situation)
  38. rsh -- unsecure remote access
  39. talk -- internet talk protocol
  40. foomatic -- printer driver database
  41. finger -- finger client
  42. eject -- eject removable media
  43. cvs -- concurrent version control

  44. rcs -- revision control system
  45. dosfstools mkbootdisk -- bootdisk
  46. redhat-menus desktop-file-utils startup-notification -- desktop
  47. ppp rp-pppoe wvdial -- dialup
  48. esound -- sound daemon
  49. pcmciautils -- PCMCIA Cardbus
  50. pcsc-lite coolkey ifd-egate ccid
  51. OpenIPMI net-snmp-libs
  52. ImageMagick-devel -- ImageMagick development package
  53. xorg-x11-devel -- X server development package
  54. acpid -- power management (remove if you don't shutdown using power button)
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Check your server for rootkits with Chkrootkit

Submitted by sandip on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 16:25

chkrootkit is a tool to locally check your system for signs of a compromise via rootkits. It contains a shell script that checks system binaries for rootkit modification, signs of LKM trojans, interface modes and lastlog, wtmp, utmp deletions.

Install via:

# cd /usr/local
# wget ftp://ftp.pangeia.com.br/pub/seg/pac/chkrootkit.tar.gz
# tar xvzf chkrootkit.tar.gz
# rm chkrootkit.tar.gz
# ln -s chkrootkit-x.xx chkrootkit
# cd chkrootkit
# make sense

Make sure to check the md5sum of the download as well.

Put the below into "/etc/cron.daily/chkrootkit.sh" to run a daily report:

#!/bin/bash
# chkrootkit.sh
cd /usr/local/chkrootkit/
./chkrootkit 2>&1 |grep "INFECTED\|Vulnerable"| grep -v "Checking \`bindshell'... INFECTED (PORTS:  465)"

The cron script will only output an email if it detects anything suspicious.

Note, that bindshell port 465 infection is a false alarm as in my case EXIM uses port 465 for secure connections. So, you could similarly grep out any such false alarm and adjust the cron script.

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Generating Apache SSL Self-Signed Certificate

Submitted by sandip on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 21:59

# openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.key/server.key -out /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.crt/server.crt -days 9999 -nodes
# chown root:root /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.key/server.key
# chmod 400 /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.key/server.key

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lftp with TLS/SSL

Submitted by sandip on Tue, 07/24/2007 - 22:52

lftp ftp client support tls/ssl so why not use a secure connection for ftp.

$ lftp
lftp :~> set ftp:ssl-force true
lftp :~> connect ftp.domain.tld
lftp ftp.domain.tld:~> login <username>

Insist on your host to serve up ftp with tls/ssl support so all data is secured.

If using proftpd server, tls/ssl can be configured via "/etc/proftpd.conf":

<IfModule mod_tls.c>
    TLSEngine on
    TLSLog /var/log/proftpd/tls.log
    TLSProtocol TLSv1

    # Are clients required to use FTP over TLS when talking to this server?
    TLSRequired off

    # Server's certificate
    TLSRSACertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/proftpd/server.cert.pem
    TLSRSACertificateKeyFile /etc/pki/tls/proftpd/server.key.pem

    # CA the server trusts
    #TLSCACertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/proftpd/root.cert.pem

    # Authenticate clients that want to use FTP over TLS?
    TLSVerifyClient off

    # Allow SSL/TLS renegotiations when the client requests them, but
    # do not force the renegotations.  Some clients do not support
    # SSL/TLS renegotiations; when mod_tls forces a renegotiation, these
    # clients will close the data connection, or there will be a timeout
    # on an idle data connection.
    TLSRenegotiate required off

</IfModule>

The certificate can be generated to be used on the ftp server via:

# cd /etc/pki/tls/proftpd/
# openssl req -new -x509 -days 3650 -nodes -out server.cert.pem -keyout server.key.pem

Reference:

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Flushing iptables rules

Submitted by sandip on Thu, 07/19/2007 - 11:17

If you need to flush your firewall iptables rules, do not do a direct `iptables --flush` from a remote machine if the default policy is set to DROP packets, you will lock yourself out.

Run the below script instead:

#!/bin/bash
# flushIptables.sh
/sbin/iptables -P INPUT ACCEPT
/sbin/iptables -P OUTPUT ACCEPT
/sbin/iptables -F

or set the default policy to ACCEPT before flushing.

To find the default policy:

# iptables -L -n | grep policy

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New Server CentOS 4.4 at LT Grid with ISPConfig Installed

Submitted by sandip on Tue, 01/23/2007 - 23:52

These are notes, I had taken down while setting up ISPConfig Hosting Control Panel on LayeredTechs Grid. Most of the steps were referenced via howtoforge and ispconfig installation notes. There were some gotchas to look out for and has bee noted below:

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Submitted by shujuhuifu on Wed, 08/23/2006 - 10:31

转载请

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Checking for rootkits, exploits and backdoors with Rootkit Hunter

Submitted by sandip on Fri, 04/14/2006 - 09:26

rkhunter (or Rootkit Hunter) is a Unix-based tool that scans for rootkits, backdoors and local exploits. It does this by comparing MD5 hash of important files with known good ones in an online database, searching for default directories (of rootkits), wrong permissions, hidden files, suspicious strings in kernel modules. It should run on almost every Unix clone.

Installation notes:

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