V-248862

Discussion

Without authenticating devices, unidentified or unknown devices may be introduced, thereby facilitating malicious activity. Peripherals include but are not limited to such devices as flash drives, external storage, and printers. A new feature that OL 8 provides is the USBGuard software framework. The USBguard-daemon is the main component of the USBGuard software framework. It runs as a service in the background and enforces the USB device authorization policy for all USB devices. The policy is defined by a set of rules using a rule language described in the "usbguard-rules.conf" file. The policy and the authorization state of USB devices can be modified during runtime using the "usbguard" tool. The system administrator (SA) must work with the site information system security officer (ISSO) to determine a list of authorized peripherals and establish rules within the USBGuard software framework to allow only authorized devices.

Check Content

Verify USBGuard is installed on the operating system with the following command:

$ sudo yum list installed usbguard

Installed Packages
usbguard.x86_64                   0.7.8-7.el8             @ol8_appstream

If the USBGuard package is not installed, ask the SA to indicate how unauthorized peripherals are being blocked.
If there is no evidence that unauthorized peripherals are being blocked before establishing a connection, this is a finding.