2.3.5 Ensure LDAP client is not installed

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Information

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) was introduced as a replacement for NIS/YP. It is a service that provides a method for looking up information from a central database.

Rationale:

If the system will not need to act as an LDAP client, it is recommended that the software be removed to reduce the potential attack surface.

Solution

Uninstall ldap-utils:

# apt purge ldap-utils

Impact:

Removing the LDAP client will prevent or inhibit using LDAP for authentication in your environment.

Notes:

The openldap-clients package can go by other names on some distributions. openldap2-client, and ldap-utils are known alternative package names.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2658