8.1.1 Set Warning Banner for Standard Login Services - /etc/motd

Information

The contents of the /etc/issue file are displayed prior to the login prompt on the system's console and serial devices, and also prior to logins via telnet. The contents of the /etc/motd file is generally displayed after all successful logins, no matter where the user is logging in from, but is thought to be less useful because it only provides notification to the user after the machine has been accessed.

Rationale:

Warning messages inform users who are attempting to login to the system of their legal status regarding the system and must include the name of the organization that owns the system and any monitoring policies that are in place. Consult with your organization's legal counsel for the appropriate wording for your specific organization.

Solution

Run the following commands to update the files:

# echo 'Authorized uses only. All activity may be monitored and reported.' > /etc/motd
# echo 'Authorized uses only. All activity may be monitored and reported.' > /etc/issue
# echo 'Authorized uses only. All activity may be monitored and reported.' > /etc/issue.net

Run the following commands to update owner, group and remove excess permissions:

# chown root:root /etc/motd
# chmod u-x,go-wx /etc/motd
# chown root:root /etc/issue
# chmod u-x,go-wx /etc/issue
# chown root:root /etc/issue.net
# chmod u-x,go-wx /etc/issue.net

Default Value:

OS Default: No

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3096

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-3, CSCv7|14.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 82e1951ad6e2787adbe4423f862bb815ee8c541161ad93738b6acdb4523df380