1.2.4 Ensure software packages have been digitally signed by a Certificate Authority (CA)

Information

The operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization.

Rationale:

Changes to any software components can have significant effects on the overall security of the operating system. This requirement ensures the software has not been tampered with and that it has been provided by a trusted vendor.

Accordingly, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components must be signed with a certificate recognized and approved by the organization.

Verifying the authenticity of the software prior to installation validates the integrity of the patch or upgrade received from a vendor. This verifies the software has not been tampered with and that it has been provided by a trusted vendor. Self-signed certificates are disallowed by this requirement. The operating system should not have to verify the software again. This requirement does not mandate DoD certificates for this purpose; however, the certificate used to verify the software must be from an approved CA.

Solution

Configure the operating system to verify the signature of local packages prior to install by setting the following option in the /etc/yum.conf file:
Example: vim /etc/yum.conf
and add the following line:

localpkg_gpgcheck=1

Notes:

This Benchmark recommendation maps to:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide:

Version 2, Release: 3 Benchmark Date: 26 Apr 2019



Vul ID: V-71979

Rule ID: SV-86603r2_rule

STIG ID: RHEL-07-020060

Severity: CAT I

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2688

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-7(6)

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: e9c3f1205eb5568cd6f675cb5a463b71082d9f6d57ffa30af9747b149a53d0af