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2.2.8 Ensure telnet server services are not in use

Information

The freebsd-telnetd package contains the telnet daemon, which accepts connections from users from other systems via the telnet protocol.

The telnet protocol is insecure and unencrypted. The use of an unencrypted transmission medium could allow a user with access to sniff network traffic the ability to steal credentials. The ssh service provides an encrypted session and stronger security.

Solution

Run the following commands to stop and disable telnet :

# sed -i '' -e 's|^telnet|#telnet|g' /etc/inetd.conf
# service inetd restart

-AND-

-IF- a package is installed and is required for dependencies:

Run the following commands to remove the freebsd-telnetd package:

# pkg remove freebsd-telnetd

Impact:

There may be packages that are dependent on the freebsd-telnetd package. If the freebsd-telnetd package is removed, these dependent packages will be removed as well. Before removing the freebsd-telnetd package, review any dependent packages to determine if they are required on the system.

-IF- a dependent package is required: stop and disable the telnet service leaving the freebsd-telnetd package installed.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/19044

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, 800-53|CM-11, CSCv7|2.6, CSCv7|9.2

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 169c2a060fd093efd501b11b4cf900ccfba7e1c20eb74312c26050cd1386f784