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4.1.3.3 Ensure session initiation information is collected

Warning! Audit Deprecated

This audit has been deprecated and will be removed in a future update.

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Information

Monitor session initiation events. The parameters in this section track changes to the files associated with session events. The file /var/run/utmp tracks all currently logged in users. All audit records will be tagged with the identifier "session." The /var/log/wtmp file tracks logins, logouts, shutdown, and reboot events. The file /var/log/btmp keeps track of failed login attempts and can be read by entering the command /usr/bin/last -f /var/log/btmp . All audit records will be tagged with the identifier "logins."

Notes:

 - The last command can be used to read /var/log/wtmp ( last with no parameters) and /var/run/utmp ( last -f /var/run/utmp )
 - Reloading the auditd config to set active settings requires the auditd service to be restarted, and may require a system reboot.

Monitoring these files for changes could alert a system administrator to logins occurring at unusual hours, which could indicate intruder activity (i.e. a user logging in at a time when they do not normally log in).

Solution

Edit or create a file in the /etc/audit/rules.d/ directory ending in .rules

Example: vi /etc/audit/rules.d/50-session.rules

Add the following lines:

-w /var/run/utmp -p wa -k session
-w /var/log/wtmp -p wa -k logins
-w /var/log/btmp -p wa -k logins

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8415

Item Details

References: CSCv7|4.9, CSCv7|16.11, CSCv7|16.13

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 4b1b47c4758a5068ac0d54a6aeeb9d7495ea502a2b4d584f4acb680e5b52dc55