Description
The xinetd service can be disabled with the following command:
$ sudo systemctl mask --now xinetd.service
Rationale
The xinetd service provides a dedicated listener service for some programs,
which is no longer necessary for commonly-used network services. Disabling
it ensures that these uncommon services are not running, and also prevents
attacks against xinetd itself.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
#!/bin/bash
# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}' 'linux-base' 2>/dev/null | grep -q '^installed$'; then
SYSTEMCTL_EXEC='/usr/bin/systemctl'
if [[ $("$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" is-system-running) != "offline" ]]; then
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" stop 'xinetd.service'
fi
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" disable 'xinetd.service'
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" mask 'xinetd.service'
# Disable socket activation if we have a unit file for it
if "$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" -q list-unit-files xinetd.socket; then
if [[ $("$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" is-system-running) != "offline" ]]; then
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" stop 'xinetd.socket'
fi
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" mask 'xinetd.socket'
fi
# The service may not be running because it has been started and failed,
# so let's reset the state so OVAL checks pass.
# Service should be 'inactive', not 'failed' after reboot though.
"$SYSTEMCTL_EXEC" reset-failed 'xinetd.service' || true
else
>&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi
Ansible playbook
The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.
- name: Gather the package facts
package_facts:
manager: auto
tags:
- NIST-800-171-3.4.7
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- disable_strategy
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- service_xinetd_disabled
- name: Disable xinetd Service - Collect systemd Services Present in the System
ansible.builtin.command: systemctl -q list-unit-files --type service
register: service_exists
changed_when: false
failed_when: service_exists.rc not in [0, 1]
check_mode: false
when: '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
tags:
- NIST-800-171-3.4.7
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- disable_strategy
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- service_xinetd_disabled
- name: Disable xinetd Service - Ensure xinetd.service is Masked
ansible.builtin.systemd:
name: xinetd.service
state: stopped
enabled: false
masked: true
when:
- '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
- service_exists.stdout_lines is search("xinetd.service", multiline=True)
tags:
- NIST-800-171-3.4.7
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- disable_strategy
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- service_xinetd_disabled
- name: Unit Socket Exists - xinetd.socket
ansible.builtin.command: systemctl -q list-unit-files xinetd.socket
register: socket_file_exists
changed_when: false
failed_when: socket_file_exists.rc not in [0, 1]
check_mode: false
when: '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
tags:
- NIST-800-171-3.4.7
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- disable_strategy
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- service_xinetd_disabled
- name: Disable xinetd Service - Disable Socket xinetd
ansible.builtin.systemd:
name: xinetd.socket
enabled: false
state: stopped
masked: true
when:
- '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
- socket_file_exists.stdout_lines is search("xinetd.socket", multiline=True)
tags:
- NIST-800-171-3.4.7
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- disable_strategy
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- service_xinetd_disabled
