5.1.1 Ensure NIS is not installed

Information

The Network Information Service (NIS), formerly known as Yellow Pages, is a client-server
directory service protocol used to distribute system configuration files.

*Rationale*

The NIS service is inherently an insecure system that has been vulnerable to DOS attacks,
buffer overflows and has poor authentication for querying NIS maps. NIS generally has
been replaced by such protocols as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). It is
recommended that the service be removed.

Solution

Uninstall the nis package-# apt-get purge nis

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/91

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7(4), 800-53|CM-7b.

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 05d47b7ecde8aa4260e2aa9a932b4de95af141d63b46614d6956728e07ebb09e