4.1.11 Ensure unsuccessful unauthorized file access attempts are collected - auditctl EPERM

Information

Monitor for unsuccessful attempts to access files. The parameters below are associated with system calls that control creation ( creat ), opening ( open , openat ) and truncation ( truncate , ftruncate ) of files. An audit log record will only be written if the user is a non-privileged user (auid > = 1000), is not a Daemon event (auid=4294967295) and if the system call returned EACCES (permission denied to the file) or EPERM (some other permanent error associated with the specific system call). All audit records will be tagged with the identifier 'access.'

Rationale:

Failed attempts to open, create or truncate files could be an indication that an individual or process is trying to gain unauthorized access to the system.

Solution

For 32 bit systems add the following lines to the /etc/audit/audit.rules file:

-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access

For 64 bit systems add the following lines to the /etc/audit/audit.rules file:

-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EACCES -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S creat -S open -S openat -S truncate -S ftruncate -F exit=-EPERM -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=4294967295 -k access

Additional Information:

Reloading the auditd config to set active settings may require a system reboot.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3399