6.2.12 Ensure no users have .netrc files

Information

The .netrc file contains data for logging into a remote host for file transfers via FTP.

Rationale:

The .netrc file presents a significant security risk since it stores passwords in unencrypted
form. Even if FTP is disabled, user accounts may have brought over .netrc files from other
systems which could pose a risk to those systems.

Solution

Making global modifications to users' files without alerting the user community can result
in unexpected outages and unhappy users. Therefore, it is recommended that a monitoring
policy be established to report user .netrc files and determine the action to be taken in
accordance with site policy.

Notes:

On some distributions the /sbin/nologin should be replaced with /usr/sbin/nologin.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2420

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5, 800-53|IA-5(1), CSCv6|16.14, CSCv7|16.4

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 90cbab80f1ad1b035bad254cc67f4e82750615f0e7e8d86bb03bf5710baae0fb