6.17 Ensure Biosdevname is not enabled

Information

biosdevname is an external tool that works with the udev framework for naming devices.biosdevname uses three methods to determine NIC names-1. PCI firmware spec.3.1
2. smbios (matches # after 'em' to OEM # printed on board or housing)
3. PCI IRQ Routing Table (uses # of NIC position in the device history). If the BIOS
does not support biosdevname, no NICs' are re-named.

*Rationale*

biosdevname is an external tool that works with the udev framework for custom re-naming
of system hardware connections made by the kernel and BIOS. As allowing the re-naming
of devices can severely disrupt network communications by creating resource conflicts and
provide an attack vector for denial of service exploits, this capability should be disabled or
restricted according to the needs of the organization.

Solution

Uninstall the biosdevname package-# apt-get purge biosdevname.

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: fd99dd49dd3469e0a633beb48c8aef0712beeb334597fbb7999ea2d96a140246