How to secure an Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server - Part 1 The Basics... https://www.thefanclub.co.za/how-to/how-secure-ubuntu-1204...

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How to secure an Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server - Part 1 The

Basics

Submitted by The Fan Club on Thu, 2012-05-17 13:06

This guide is based on various community forum posts and webpages. Special thanks to all. All
comments and improvements are very welcome as this is purely a personal experimental project at
this point and must be considered a work in progress.

This guide is intended as a relatively easy step by step guide to:

Harden the security on an Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server by installing and configuring the following:

1. Install and configure Firewall - ufw

2. Secure shared memory - fstab
3. SSH - Key based login, disable root login and change port
4. Apache SSL - Disable SSL v3 support
5. Protect su by limiting access only to admin group
6. Harden network with sysctl settings
7. Disable Open DNS Recursion and Remove Version Info - Bind9 DNS
8. Prevent IP Spoofing

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9. Harden PHP for security

10. Restrict Apache Information Leakage
11. Install and configure Apache application firewall - ModSecurity
12. Protect from DDOS (Denial of Service) attacks with ModEvasive
13. Scan logs and ban suspicious hosts - DenyHosts and Fail2Ban
14. Intrusion Detection - PSAD
15. Check for RootKits - RKHunter and CHKRootKit
16. Scan open Ports - Nmap
17. Analyse system LOG files - LogWatch
18. SELinux - Apparmor
19. Audit your system security - Tiger

Requirements:

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or later server with a standard LAMP stack installed.

1. Firewall - UFW
A good place to start is to install a Firewall.
UFW - Uncomplicated Firewall is a basic firewall that works very well and easy to configure
with its Firewall configuration tool - gufw, or use Shorewall, fwbuilder, or Firestarter.
Use Firestarter GUI to configure your firewall or refer to the Ubuntu Server Guide, UFW
manual pages (http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/precise/en/man8/ufw.8.html) or the
Ubuntu UFW community documentation (http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UFW) .
Install UFW and enable, open a terminal window and enter :

sudo apt-get install ufw

Allow SSH and Http services.

sudo ufw allow ssh

sudo ufw allow http

Enable the firewall.

sudo ufw enable

Check the status of the firewall.

sudo ufw status verbose

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2. Secure shared memory.

Shared memory can be used in an attack against a running service. Modify /etc/fstab to make
it more secure.
Open a Terminal Window and enter the following :

sudo vi /etc/fstab

Add the following line and save. You will need to reboot for this setting to take effect :
Note : This only is works in Ubuntu 12.04 - For later Ubuntu versions
replace /dev/shm with /run/shm
Save and Reboot when done

tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults,noexec,nosuid 0 0

3. SSH Hardening - key based login, disable root login and

change port.
The best way to secure SSH is to use public/private key based login. See SSH/OpenSSH/Keys
If you have to use password authentication, the easiest way to secure SSH is to disable root
login and change the SSH port to something different than the standard port 22.
Before disabling the root login create a new SSH user and make sure the user belongs to the
admin group (see step 4. below regarding the admin group).
if you change the SSH port keep the port number below 1024 as these are priviledged ports
that can only be opened by root or processes running as root.
If you change the SSH port also open the new port you have chosen on the firewall and close
port 22.
Open a Terminal Window and enter :

sudo vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Change or add the following and save.

Port <ENTER YOUR PORT>

Protocol 2
PermitRootLogin no
DebianBanner no

Restart SSH server, open a Terminal Window and enter :

sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

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4. Apache SSL Hardening - disable SSL v3 support.

The SSL v3 protocol has been proven to be insecure.
We will disable Apache support for the protocol and force the use of the newer protocols.
Open a Terminal Window and enter :

sudo vi /etc/apache2/mods-available/ssl.conf

Change this line from :

SSLProtocol all -SSLv2

To the following and save.

SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3

Restart the Apache server, open a Terminal Window and enter :

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

5. Protect su by limiting access only to admin group.

To limit the use of su by admin users only we need to create an admin group, then add users
and limit the use of su to the admin group.
Add a admin group to the system and add your own admin username to the group by replacing
<YOUR ADMIN USERNAME> below with your admin username.
Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo groupadd admin

sudo usermod -a -G admin <YOUR ADMIN USERNAME>
sudo dpkg-statoverride --update --add root admin 4750 /bin/su

6. Harden network with sysctl settings.

The /etc/sysctl.conf file contain all the sysctl settings.
Prevent source routing of incoming packets and log malformed IP's enter the following in a
terminal window:

sudo vi /etc/sysctl.conf

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Edit the /etc/sysctl.conf file and un-comment or add the following lines :

# IP Spoofing protection
net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter = 1
net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1

# Ignore ICMP broadcast requests

net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts = 1

# Disable source packet routing

net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0
net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0
net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0

# Ignore send redirects

net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.send_redirects = 0

# Block SYN attacks

net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 2048
net.ipv4.tcp_synack_retries = 2
net.ipv4.tcp_syn_retries = 5

# Log Martians
net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians = 1
net.ipv4.icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses = 1

# Ignore ICMP redirects

net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 0
net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_redirects = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects = 0
net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_redirects = 0

# Ignore Directed pings

net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_all = 1

To reload sysctl with the latest changes, enter:

sudo sysctl -p

7. Disable Open DNS Recursion and Remove Version Info -

BIND DNS Server.

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Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo vi /etc/bind/named.conf.options

Add the following to the Options section :

recursion no;
version "Not Disclosed";

Restart BIND DNS server. Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo /etc/init.d/bind9 restart

8. Prevent IP Spoofing.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo vi /etc/host.conf

Add or edit the following lines :

order bind,hosts
nospoof on

9. Harden PHP for security.

Edit the php.ini file :

sudo vi /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Add or edit the following lines an save :

disable_functions = exec,system,shell_exec,passthru
register_globals = Off
expose_php = Off
display_errors = Off
track_errors = Off
html_errors = Off

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magic_quotes_gpc = Off

Restart Apache server. Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

10. Restrict Apache Information Leakage.

Edit the Apache2 configuration security file :

sudo vi /etc/apache2/conf.d/security

Add or edit the following lines and save :

ServerTokens Prod
ServerSignature Off
TraceEnable Off
Header unset ETag
FileETag None

Restart Apache server. Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

11. Web Application Firewall - ModSecurity.

See : How to install apache2 mod_security and mod_evasive on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server

12. Protect from DDOS (Denial of Service) attacks - ModEvasive

See : How to install apache2 mod_security and mod_evasive on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server

13. Scan logs and ban suspicious hosts - DenyHosts and

Fail2Ban.
DenyHosts (http://denyhosts.sourceforge.net/) is a python program that automatically blocks
SSH attacks by adding entries to /etc/hosts.deny. DenyHosts will also inform Linux
administrators about offending hosts, attacked users and suspicious logins.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install denyhosts

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After installation edit the configuration file /etc/denyhosts.conf and change the email, and
other settings as required.
To edit the admin email settings open a terminal window and enter:

sudo vi /etc/denyhosts.conf

Change the following values as required on your server :

ADMIN_EMAIL = root@localhost
SMTP_HOST = localhost
SMTP_PORT = 25
#SMTP_USERNAME=foo
#SMTP_PASSWORD=bar
SMTP_FROM = DenyHosts nobody@localhost
#SYSLOG_REPORT=YES

Fail2ban (http://www.fail2ban.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) is more advanced than

DenyHosts as it extends the log monitoring to other services including SSH, Apache, Courier,
FTP, and more.
Fail2ban scans log files and bans IPs that show the malicious signs -- too many password
failures, seeking for exploits, etc.
Generally Fail2Ban then used to update firewall rules to reject the IP addresses for a specified
amount of time, although any arbitrary other action could also be configured.
Out of the box Fail2Ban comes with filters for various services (apache, courier, ftp, ssh, etc).
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install fail2ban

After installation edit the configuration file /etc/fail2ban/jail.local and create the filter rules
as required.
To edit the settings open a terminal window and enter:

sudo vi /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf

Activate all the services you would like fail2ban to monitor by changing enabled = false to
enabled = true
For example if you would like to enable the SSH monitoring and banning jail, find the line
below and change enabled from false to true. Thats it.

[ssh]

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enabled = true
port = ssh
filter = sshd
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 3

If you have selected a non-standard SSH port in step 3 then you need to change the port
setting in fail2ban from ssh which by default is port 22, to your new port number, for example
if you have chosen 1234 then port = 1234

[ssh]

enabled = true
port = <ENTER YOUR SSH PORT NUMBER HERE>
filter = sshd
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 3

If you would like to receive emails from Fail2Ban if hosts are banned change the following
line to your email address.

destemail = root@localhost

and change the following line from :

action = %(action_)s

to:

action = %(action_mwl)s

You can also create rule filters for the various services that you would like fail2ban to monitor
that is not supplied by default.

sudo vi /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Good instructions on how to configure fail2ban and create the various filters can be found on
HowtoForge (http://www.howtoforge.com/) - click here for an example
(http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect-server-ubuntu-11.10-ispconfig-3-p5)

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When done with the configuration of Fail2Ban restart the service with :

sudo /etc/init.d/fail2ban restart

You can also check the status with.

sudo fail2ban-client status

14. Intrusion Detection - PSAD.

Cipherdyne PSAD (http://www.cipherdyne.org/psad/) is a collection of three lightweight
system daemons that run on Linux machines and analyze iptables log messages to detect port
scans and other suspicious traffic.
Currently version 2.1 causes errors during install on Ubuntu 12.04, but apparently does work.
Version 2.2 resolves these issues but is not yet available on the Ubuntu software repositories. It
is recommended to manually compile and install version 2.2 from the source files available on
the Ciperdyne website (http://www.cipherdyne.org/psad/download/) .
To install the latest version from the source files follow these instruction : How to install
PSAD Intrusion Detection on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server
OR install the older version from the Ubuntu software repositories, open a Terminal and enter
the following :

sudo apt-get install psad

Then for basic configuration see How to install PSAD Intrusion Detection on Ubuntu 12.04
LTS server and follow from step 2:

15. Check for rootkits - RKHunter and CHKRootKit.

Both RKHunter (http://rkhunter.sourceforge.net/) and CHKRootkit
(http://www.chkrootkit.org/) basically do the same thing - check your system for rootkits
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit) . No harm in using both.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install rkhunter chkrootkit

To run chkrootkit open a terminal window and enter :

sudo chkrootkit

To update and run RKHunter. Open a Terminal and enter the following :

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sudo rkhunter --update

sudo rkhunter --propupd
sudo rkhunter --check

16. Scan open ports - Nmap.

Nmap (http://nmap.org/) ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source utility for network
discovery and security auditing.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install nmap

Scan your system for open ports with :

nmap -v -sT localhost

SYN scanning with the following :

sudo nmap -v -sS localhost

17. Analyse system LOG files - LogWatch.

Logwatch (http://sourceforge.net/projects/logwatch/) is a customizable log analysis system.
Logwatch parses through your system's logs and creates a report analyzing areas that you specify.
Logwatch is easy to use and will work right out of the package on most systems.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install logwatch libdate-manip-perl

To view logwatch output use less :

sudo logwatch | less

To email a logwatch report for the past 7 days to an email address, enter the following and
replace mail@domain.com with the required email. :

sudo logwatch --mailto mail@domain.com --output mail --format html

--range 'between -7 days and today'

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18. SELinux - Apparmor.

National Security Agency (http://www.nsa.gov/research/selinux/index.shtml) (NSA) has taken
Linux to the next level with the introduction of Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux). SELinux
takes the existing GNU/Linux operating system and extends it with kernel and user-space
modifications to make it bullet-proof.
More information can be found here. Ubuntu Server Guide - Apparmor
It is installed by default since Ubuntu 7.04.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install apparmor apparmor-profiles

Check to see if things are running :

sudo apparmor_status

19. Audit your system security - Tiger.

Tiger (http://www.nongnu.org/tiger/) is a security tool that can be use both as a security audit
and intrusion detection system.
Open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo apt-get install tiger

To run tiger enter :

sudo tiger

All Tiger output can be found in the /var/log/tiger

To view the tiger security reports, open a Terminal and enter the following :

sudo less /var/log/tiger/security.report.*

Tags: Ubuntu 12.04 Ubuntu Security ufw SSH sysctl DNS IP Spoofing PHP
Security ModSecurity ModEvasive DenyHosts Fail2Ban PSAD RKHunter NMap LogWatc
h Apparmor SELinux Tiger RootKits Log Files

Comments

12 of 14 31/07/15 13:17
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Why do you suggest "magic

Submitted by steph (not verified) on Sat, 2013-03-09 11:29

Why do you suggest "magic_quotes_gpc = On" ? When you read php.ini comments, it is
written that the Off value is for production. Thanks

Thank you for pointing that

Submitted by The Fan Club on Sat, 2013-03-09 14:25

Thank you for pointing that out - It should be off, as this feature has been
DEPRECATED as of PHP 5.3.0 and REMOVED as of PHP 5.4.0. (see :
http://www.php.net/manual/en/security.magicquotes.php)

This is a nice tutorial,

Submitted by dennis.k (not verified) on Fri, 2013-03-22 11:03

This is a nice tutorial, quick and easy, less explained, thanks for that! What i missed here
also is the security of email services like postfix and generally a anti virus tool. I mean use
of clamav, postgrey and so on. It would be nice if you spent time to write a part for that
;-) One that i believe is also required for good security is to install suhosin for php. It
would be nice if you add it to this guide, and how to configure it with minimal settings.
Also speak about disabling/enabling modules in php that are mostly not used, or modules
which can be turned off and on for special applications. Another thing i ever see is enabled
mods in apache that nobody uses (which can be simply disabled). It would be nice if you
speak about what is really needed, and how to disable/enable unused ones. ModEvasive is
also not really needed in favour of ModSecurity, which can also do DDoS prevention for
you. I did not test the rules of OWASP CRS yet since they are stated as experimental, but
they look clear to me. Take a look to file "modsecurity_crs_11_dos_protection". I use
similar ones in production environment...

Show all comments

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