BigFix Compliance: Updated CIS Checklist for SUSE Linux 15, published 2025-06-20

Product:
BigFix Compliance

Title:
Updated CIS Checklist for SUSE Linux 15

Security Benchmark:
CIS Checklist for SUSE Linux 15 Benchmark, v2.0.1

Published Sites:
CIS Checklist for SUSE Linux 15, site version 9
(The site version is provided for air-gap customers.)

Details:

Total New Fixlets: 100

Total Updated Fixlets: 22

Total Deleted Fixlets: 0

Total Fixlets in Site: 276

New Items:

Ensure nosuid option set on /home partition

Ensure nodev option set on /var partition

Ensure nosuid option set on var partition

Ensure nodev option set on varlog partition

Ensure nosuid option set on varlog partition

Ensure noexec option set on varlog partition

Ensure nodev option set on varlogaudit partition

Ensure nosuid option set on varlogaudit partition

Ensure noexec option set on varlogaudit partition

Ensure repo gpgcheck is globally activated

Ensure crypto-policies-scripts package is installed

Ensure system wide crypto policy is not set to legacy

Ensure system wide crypto policy is not set in sshd configuration

Ensure system wide crypto policy disables sha1 hash and signature support

Ensure system wide crypto policy disables macs less than 128 bits

Ensure system wide crypto policy disables cbc for ssh

Ensure system wide crypto policy disables chacha20-poly1305 for ssh

Ensure GDM login banner is configured

Ensure GDM disable-user-list option is enabled

Ensure GDM screen locks when the user is idle

Ensure GDM automatic mounting of removable media is disabled

Ensure GDM disabling automatic mounting of removable media is not overridden

Ensure GDM autorun-never is enabled

Ensure GDM autorun-never is not overridden

Ensure XDMCP is not enabled

Ensure dns server services are not in use

Ensure dnsmasq services are not in use

Ensure message access server services are not in use

Ensure tftp server services are not in use

Ensure ftp client is not installed

Ensure tftp client is not installed

Ensure systemd-timesyncd configured with authorized timeserver

Ensure systemd-timesyncd is enabled and running

Ensure chrony is enabled and running

Ensure IPv6 status is identified

Ensure bluetooth services are not in use

Ensure rds kernel module is not available

Ensure sctp kernel module is not available

Ensure a single firewall configuration utility is in use

Ensure sshd Banner is configured

Ensure sshd DisableForwarding is enabled

Ensure sshd GSSAPIAuthentication is disabled

Ensure users must provide password for escalation

Ensure re-authentication for privilege escalation is not disabled globally

Ensure sudo authentication timeout is configured correctly

Ensure latest version of pam is installed

Ensure password failed attempts lockout is configured

Ensure password failed attempts lockout includes root account

Ensure password dictionary check is enabled

Ensure password number of changed characters is configured

Ensure password length is configured

Ensure password complexity is configured

Ensure password same consecutive characters is configured

Ensure password maximum sequential characters is configured

Ensure password quality is enforced for the root user

Ensure password history remember is configured

Ensure password history is enforced for the root user

Ensure pam pwhistory includes use authtok

Ensure pam unix does not include nullok

Ensure pam unix does not include remember

Ensure pam unix includes a strong password hashing algorithm

Ensure pam unix includes use authtok

Ensure group root is the only GID 0 group

Ensure root account access is controlled

Ensure root user umask is configured

Ensure accounts without a valid login shell are locked

Ensure nologin is not listed in etcshells

Ensure cryptographic mechanisms are used to protect the integrity of audit tools

Ensure journald service is enabled and active

Ensure journald log file rotation is configured

Ensure only one logging system is in use

Ensure systemd-journal-remote is installed

Ensure systemd-journal-upload authentication is configured

Ensure systemd-journal-upload is enabled and active

Ensure systemd-journal-remote service is not in use

Ensure rsyslog is not configured to receive logs from a remote client

Ensure access to all logfiles has been configured

Ensure actions as another user are always logged

Ensure events that modify the sudo log file are collected

Ensure successful and unsuccessful attempts to use the chcon command are collected

Ensure successful and unsuccessful attempts to use the setfacl command are collected

Ensure successful and unsuccessful attempts to use the chacl command are collected

Ensure successful and unsuccessful attempts to use the usermod command are collected

Ensure kernel module loading unloading and modification is collected

Ensure the running and on disk configuration is the same

Ensure the audit log file directory mode is configured

Ensure audit log files mode is configured

Ensure audit log files owner is configured

Ensure audit log files group owner is configured

Ensure audit configuration files mode is configured

Ensure audit configuration files owner is configured

Ensure audit configuration files group owner is configured

Ensure audit tools mode is configured

Ensure audit tools owner is configured

Ensure audit tools group owner is configured

Ensure access to /etc/gshadow is configured

Ensure access to /etc/gshadow- is configured

Ensure access to etcshells is configured

Ensure access to etcsecurityopasswd is configured

Ensure local interactive user home directories are configured

Modified Items:

Ensure cramfs kernel module is not available

Ensure freevxfs kernel module is not available

Ensure hfs kernel module is not available

Ensure hfsplus kernel module is not available

Ensure jffs2 kernel module is not available

Ensure squashfs kernel module is not available

Ensure udf kernel module is not available

Ensure ldap server services are not in use

Ensure rsync services are not in use

Ensure X window server services are not in use

Ensure ldap client is not installed

Ensure a single time synchronization daemon is in use

Ensure dccp kernel module is not available

Ensure tipc kernel module is not available

Ensure sshd PermitUserEnvironment is disabled

Ensure root is the only UID 0 account

Ensure audit tools group owner is configured

Ensure access to /etc/shadow is configured

Ensure access to /etc/shadow- is configured

Ensure no duplicate UIDs exist

Ensure no duplicate user names exist

Ensure local interactive user home directories are configured

Additional details:
● Both analysis and remediation checks are included
● Some of the checks allow you to use the parameterized setting to enable customization for compliance evaluation. Note that parameterization and remediation actions require the creation of a custom site.
Improved few checks by adding the pending restart feature to them. The pending restart feature works in the following ways:
● The action results will show “Pending Restart” instead of “Fixed” for those checks which requires OS reboot.
● The check will show relevant for those endpoints until they are rebooted.
● Post reboot of the endpoint the action results will show as “Fixed” and the check will be compliant.

Actions to take:
● To subscribe to the above site, you can use the License Overview Dashboard to enable and gather the site. Note that you must be entitled to the BigFix Compliance product and you must be using BigFix version 9.5 and later.
● If you use custom sites, update your custom sites accordingly to use the latest content. You can synchronize your content by using the Synchronize Custom Checks wizard. For more information, see Using the Synchronize Custom Checks wizard
More information:
To know more about the BigFix Compliance SCM checklists, please see the following resources:

● BigFix Forum:

This category is used by HCL to announce new releases for BigFix Compliance.

● BigFix Compliance SCM Checklists:
Welcome to Wikis
We hope you find this latest release of SCM content useful and effective.

Thank you!
– The BigFix Compliance team