LJK/Security Reference Manual


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FAILWAIT

Determine whether specification of WAIT when security alarms cannot be generated conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
PROHIBITED WAIT on failure is specified in violation of policy
REQUIRED WAIT on failure is not specified in violation of policy

Description

Use of the qualifier /FAILURE_MODE=WAIT with the SET AUDIT command causes the system to wait for resources when security event information cannot be written to the OPCOM mailbox (only in VMS V5.4 through V5.5).

Default policy

Specification of WAIT as the failure mode is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for WAIT as the failure mode for security alarms. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule.

Set limit REQUIRED TRY to establish a requirement for wait as the failure mode only for those versions of VMS (version 5.4 through 5.5) where such failure modes are supported. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE FALSE
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE <node>
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

If individual users have sufficient disk quota to exhaust disk space on the volume where OPCOM logs are written, they can force others into MWAIT if WAIT is the failure mode for security alarms.

Likewise, if the amount of disk space available for writing OPCOM logs is small, individual users could force a WAIT by maliciously generating a large number of security alarms.

These possibilities for malicious interference increase the importance of ensuring that all usernames established on VMS systems are assigned to known individual users, rather than being shared.


FINCRASH

Determine whether specification of an Audit Server final action of crashing the system when it runs out of buffer space conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
PROHIBITED CRASH action is specified in violation of policy
REQUIRED CRASH action is not specified in violation of policy

Description

Use of the value FINAL_ACTION=CRASH with the SET AUDIT/SERVER= command causes the system to crash when the Audit Server runs out of buffer space.

Default policy

Specification of CRASH as the final action is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for CRASH as the final action for the Audit Server. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule.

Set limit REQUIRED TRY to establish a requirement for CRASH as the final action only for those versions of VMS (version 6.0 and above) where such final actions are supported. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE FALSE
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE <node>
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

Specifying CRASH as the final action for the Audit Server is only appropriate where the need for auditing is more crucial than the need for continuity of service.

FINIGNORE

Determine whether specification of an Audit Server final action of ignoring new events when it runs out of buffer space conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
PROHIBITED IGNORE_NEW action is specified in violation of policy
REQUIRED IGNORE_NEW action is not specified in violation of policy

Description

Use of the value FINAL_ACTION=IGNORE_NEW with the SET AUDIT/SERVER= command causes the Audit Server to ignore new events when it runs out of buffer space.

Default policy

Specification of IGNORE_NEW as the final action is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for IGNORE_NEW as the final action for the Audit Server. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule.

Set limit REQUIRED TRY to establish a requirement for IGNORE_NEW as the final action only for those versions of VMS (version 6.0 and above) where such final actions are supported. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE FALSE
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE <node>
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

If a particular factor caused the overflow of audit events, some initial events from that factor will probably already be processed, so all knowledge of a repeating event will not be lost if IGNORE_NEW is specified as the final action for the Audit Server.

FINPURGE

Determine whether specification of an Audit Server final action of ignoring new events when it runs out of buffer space conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
PROHIBITED PURGE_OLD action is specified in violation of policy
REQUIRED PURGE_OLD action is not specified in violation of policy

Description

Use of the value FINAL_ACTION=PURGE_OLD with the SET AUDIT/SERVER= command causes the Audit Server to purge old events when it runs out of buffer space.

Default policy

Specification of PURGE_OLD as the final action is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for PURGE_OLD as the final action for the Audit Server. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule.

Set limit REQUIRED TRY to establish a requirement for PURGE_OLD as the final action only for those versions of VMS (version 6.0 and above) where such final actions are supported. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE FALSE
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE <node>
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

PURGE_OLD is the default Audit Server final action as VMS ships.

FINRESTART

Determine whether specification of an Audit Server final action of restarting the Audit Server when it runs out of buffer space conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
PROHIBITED RESTART action is specified in violation of policy
REQUIRED RESTART action is not specified in violation of policy

Description

Use of the value FINAL_ACTION=RESTART with the SET AUDIT/SERVER= command causes the Audit Server to restart the audit server when it runs out of buffer space.

Default policy

Specification of RESTART as the final action is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for RESTART as the final action for the Audit Server. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule.

Set limit REQUIRED TRY to establish a requirement for RESTART as the final action only for those versions of VMS (version 6.0 and above) where such final actions are supported. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE FALSE
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
PROHIBITED FALSE or TRUE <node>
REQUIRED FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

The RESTART action is not recommended in the VMS Documentation.

GRPPRV

Determine whether auditing for events involving the use of GRPPRV privilege conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
ALPROHIBIT GRPPRV security alarms are enabled in violation of policy
ALREQUIRE GRPPRV security alarms are disabled in violation of policy
AUPROHIBIT GRPPRV security audits are enabled in violation of policy
AUREQUIRE GRPPRV security audits are disabled in violation of policy

Description

Use of the qualifiers /CLASS=FILE and
/ENABLE=ACCESS=GRPPRV=(access,...) with the SET AUDIT/ALARM or SET AUDIT/AUDIT command causes the corresponding reporting when GRPPRV privilege is used to obtain the specified type of access to files. Tests for this element determine whether those audits or alarms are enabled or not.

Default policy

Enabling of GRPPRV security alarms or audits is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for the enabling of GRPPRV security auditing. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule. selector Limits for this element can take a selector consisting of a VMS access type: READ, WRITE, EXECUTE, DELETE or CONTROL. LOGICAL and PHYSICAL access to devices are indicated by EXECUTE and DELETE respectively.

Thus, each limit can be set once for each possible access type. If you do not specify a selector when changing limits, your change applies to all access types.

Limits

Constraint Value Default
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
ALREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE FALSE
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
AUREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
ALREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE <node>
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
AUREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE <node>

Practical considerations

Before enabling GRPPRV alarms, it is wise to consult with those holding the privilege to determine it's frequency of use. Although proper operations should be based on regular protection mechanism for day-to-day use, some users may have developed a habit of using GRPPRV for normal production purposes. GRPPRV audits on the other hand, provide a silent record of the activities of privileged users.

IDENT

Determine whether enabling of alarms or audits for use of identifier as privilege event conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
ALPROHIBIT Identifier security alarms are enabled in violation of policy
ALREQUIRE Identifier security alarms are disabled in violation of policy
AUPROHIBIT Identifier security audits are enabled in violation of policy
AUREQUIRE Identifier security audits are disabled in violation of policy

Description

Use of the qualifier /ENABLE=IDENTIFIER with the SET AUDIT/ALARM or SET AUDIT/AUDIT command causes the corresponding reporting when an identifier is used as privilege in a call to the $CHECK_PRIVILEGE system service (available in VMS V6.0 and above only).

Default policy

Enabling of Identifier security alarms and audits is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for the enabling of Identifier security alarms or audits. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule. selector

Limits

Constraint Value Default
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
ALREQUIRE FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
AUREQUIRE FALSE, TRUE or TRY FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
ALREQUIRE FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
AUREQUIRE FALSE, TRUE or TRY <node>

Practical considerations

Identifiers are used as privilege, for instance, in DECnet Plus and in LJK/Security itself.

IMPORT

Determine whether auditing for events involving the use of IMPORT privilege conforms to policy.

Violation reports

Constraint Nature of the violation
ALPROHIBIT IMPORT security alarms are enabled in violation of policy
ALREQUIRE IMPORT security alarms are disabled in violation of policy
AUPROHIBIT IMPORT security audits are enabled in violation of policy
AUREQUIRE IMPORT security audits are disabled in violation of policy

Description

Use of the qualifiers /CLASS=FILE and
/ENABLE=ACCESS=IMPORT=(access,...) with the SET AUDIT/ALARM or SET AUDIT/AUDIT command causes the corresponding reporting when IMPORT privilege is used to obtain the specified type of access to files. Tests for this element determine whether those audits or alarms are enabled or not.

SEVMS required

The (AUDIT, IMPORT, ALREQUIRE) and ((AUDIT, IMPORT, AUREQUIRE) tests will never report an error on systems that do not have the CLASS_PROT system parameter enabled. When the CLASS_PROT system parameter is not enabled, audits and alarms for use of the IMPORT privilege cannot be enabled.

If the policy covering a number of systems is to require that the SEVMS product be used, the test (VMS, CLASSPROT, REQUIRED) should be used.

Default policy

Enabling of IMPORT security alarms or audits is neither prohibited nor required

Customizing

Set limits TRUE to establish a general prohibition of or requirement for the enabling of IMPORT security auditing. Then establish exemptions for any individual nodes which are not to be subjected to the general rule. selector Limits for this element can take a selector consisting of a VMS access type: READ, WRITE, EXECUTE, DELETE or CONTROL. LOGICAL and PHYSICAL access to devices are indicated by EXECUTE and DELETE respectively.

Thus, each limit can be set once for each possible access type. If you do not specify a selector when changing limits, your change applies to all access types.

Limits

Constraint Value Default
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
ALREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE FALSE
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE FALSE
AUREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE FALSE

Exemptions

Constraint Value Parameters
ALPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
ALREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE <node>
AUPROHIBIT FALSE or TRUE <node>
AUREQUIRE FALSE or TRUE <node>

Practical considerations

The IMPORT privilege is only relevant to systems running Mandatory Access Controls, as implemented with the SEVMS (Security Enhanced VMS) software available from DEC.

IMPORT audits and alarms may both be quite appropriate in such environments since such activities are rare and worthy of note.


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