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cis-cassandra311-3.4

DevOps & Security
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Ensure that Cassandra is run using a non-privileged, dedicated service account

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/CyberStrikeus/CyberStrike/blob/HEAD/.cyberstrike/skill/CIS_benchmarks/Server_Software/Apache_Cassandra/CIS_Apache_Cassandra_3.11_Benchmark_v1.1.0/cis-cassandra311-3.4/SKILL.md

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3.4 Ensure that Cassandra is run using a non-privileged, dedicated service account

Profile Applicability

  • Level 1 - Cassandra on Linux
  • Level 2 - Cassandra on Linux

Description

As with any service installed on a host, it can be provided with its own user context. Providing a dedicated user to the service provides the ability to precisely constrain the service within the larger host context.

Rationale

Utilizing a non-privileged account for Cassandra to execute as may reduce the impact of a Cassandra-born vulnerability. A restricted account will be unable to access resources unrelated to Cassandra, such as operating system configurations.

Audit

Execute the following command at a terminal prompt to assess this recommendation:

ps -ef | egrep "^cassandra.*
quot;

If no lines are returned, then this is a finding. NOTE: It is assumed that the Cassandra user is cassandra. Additionally, you may consider running sudo -l as the Cassandra user or to check the sudoers file.

Remediation

Create a user which is only used for running Cassandra and directly related processes. This user must not have administrative rights to the system.

Default Value

No default user exists for running Cassandra.

References

Not specified in the benchmark.

CIS Controls

  • v8: 3.3 Configure Data Access Control Lists
  • v8: 5.4 Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts
  • v7: 4.3 Ensure the Use of Dedicated Administrative Accounts
  • v7: 14.6 Protect Information through Access Control Lists

Profile

  • Level 1 | Automated