Disable Core Dumps for All Users

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Description

To disable core dumps for all users, add the following line to /etc/security/limits.conf, or to a file within the /etc/security/limits.d/ directory:

*     hard   core    0

Rationale

A core dump includes a memory image taken at the time the operating system terminates an application. The memory image could contain sensitive data and is generally useful only for developers trying to debug problems.

Remediation

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}\n' 'libpam-runtime' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed; then

SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE="/etc/security/limits.conf"

if grep -qE '^\s*\*\s+hard\s+core' $SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE; then
        sed -ri 's/(hard\s+core\s+)[[:digit:]]+/\1 0/' $SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE
else
        echo "*     hard   core    0" >> $SECURITY_LIMITS_FILE
fi

if ls /etc/security/limits.d/*.conf > /dev/null; then
        sed -ri '/^\s*\*\s+hard\s+core/d' /etc/security/limits.d/*.conf
fi

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-800-53-CM-6
  - NIST-800-53-SC-7(10)
  - PCI-DSSv4-3.3.1.1
  - disable_users_coredumps
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy

- name: Disable core dumps with limits
  lineinfile:
    dest: /etc/security/limits.conf
    regexp: ^[^#].*core
    line: '*        hard       core      0'
    create: true
  when: '"libpam-runtime" in ansible_facts.packages'
  tags:
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6
  - NIST-800-53-SC-7(10)
  - PCI-DSSv4-3.3.1.1
  - disable_users_coredumps
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed
  - restrict_strategy