3.1.1 Disable Avahi Server

Information

Avahi is a free zeroconf implementation, including a system for multicast DNS/DNS-SD service discovery. Avahi allows programs to publish and discover services and hosts running on a local network with no specific configuration. For example, a user can plug a computer into a network and Avahi automatically finds printers to print to, files to look at and people to talk to, as well as network services running on the machine.

Rationale:

Since servers are not normally used for printing, this service is not needed unless dependencies require it. If this is the case, disable the service to reduce the potential attack surface. If for some reason the service is required on the server, follow the recommendations in sub-sections 3.1.2 - 3.1.5 to secure it.

Solution

Run the following command to disable avahi-daemon:

# chkconfig avahi-daemon off

Edit the /etc/sysconfig/network file and remove zeroconf.

Default Value:

OS Default: N/A

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3096

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7b., CSCv6|9.1, CSCv7|9.2

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: db9814fc346277a7f3790467b44e7f093b1086462db1eadda316aaa29421c4e5