The Docker socket file should be owned by root and Docker group
Set up the docker integration.
Description
You should verify that the Docker socket file is owned by root and group owned by docker.
Rationale
The Docker daemon runs as root. The default Unix socket therefore must be owned by root. If any other user or process owns this socket, it might be possible for that non-privileged user or process to interact with the Docker daemon. Additionally, in this case a non-privileged user or process might be able to interact with containers which is neither a secure nor desired behavior. Additionally, the Docker installer creates a Unix group called docker. You can add users to this group, and in this case, those users would be able to read and write to the default Docker Unix socket. The membership of the docker group is tightly controlled by the system administrator. However, ff any other group owns this socket, then it might be possible for members of that group to interact with the Docker daemon. Such a group might not be as tightly controlled as the docker group. Again, this is not in line with good security practice. For these reason, the default Docker Unix socket file should be owned by root and group owned by docker to maintain the integrity of the socket file.
Audit
Verify that the Docker socket file is owned by root and group-owned by docker by running:
stat -c %U:%G /var/run/docker.sock | grep -v root:docker
The command should return no results.
Run the following command: chown root:docker /var/run/docker.sock
This sets the ownership to root and group ownership to docker for the default Docker socket file.
Impact
None
Default value
By default, the ownership and group ownership for the Docker socket file is correctly set to root:docker.
References
- https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/dockerd/#daemon-socket-option
- https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/dockerd/#bind-docker-to-another-hostport-or-a-unix-socket
CIS controls
Version 6
5.1 Minimize And Sparingly Use Administrative Privileges - Minimize administrative privileges and only use administrative accounts when they are required. Implement focused auditing on the use of administrative privileged functions and monitor for anomalous behavior.
