Disable Mounting of freevxfs

Description

To configure the system to prevent the freevxfs kernel module from being loaded, add the following line to the file /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf:

install freevxfs /bin/false

This effectively prevents usage of this uncommon filesystem.

Rationale

Linux kernel modules which implement filesystems that are not needed by the local system should be disabled.

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='${db:Status-Status}' 'linux-base' 2>/dev/null | grep -q '^installed$'; then

if LC_ALL=C grep -q -m 1 "^install freevxfs" /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf ; then
	
	sed -i 's#^install freevxfs.*#install freevxfs /bin/false#g' /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf
else
	echo -e "\n# Disable per security requirements" >> /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf
	echo "install freevxfs /bin/false" >> /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf
fi

if ! LC_ALL=C grep -q -m 1 "^blacklist freevxfs$" /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf ; then
	echo "blacklist freevxfs" >> /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.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-800-171-3.4.6
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
  - disable_strategy
  - kernel_module_freevxfs_disabled
  - low_complexity
  - low_severity
  - medium_disruption
  - reboot_required

- name: Ensure kernel module 'freevxfs' is disabled
  lineinfile:
    create: true
    dest: /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf
    regexp: install\s+freevxfs
    line: install freevxfs /bin/false
  when: '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
  tags:
  - NIST-800-171-3.4.6
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
  - disable_strategy
  - kernel_module_freevxfs_disabled
  - low_complexity
  - low_severity
  - medium_disruption
  - reboot_required

- name: Ensure kernel module 'freevxfs' is blacklisted
  lineinfile:
    create: true
    dest: /etc/modprobe.d/freevxfs.conf
    regexp: ^blacklist freevxfs$
    line: blacklist freevxfs
  when: '"linux-base" in ansible_facts.packages'
  tags:
  - NIST-800-171-3.4.6
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
  - NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
  - disable_strategy
  - kernel_module_freevxfs_disabled
  - low_complexity
  - low_severity
  - medium_disruption
  - reboot_required