| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Summary | How to use the Ubuntu Security Guide to audit with the CIS benchmark or DISA-STIG. |
| Categories | server, desktop, ua |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Author | Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos nmav@canonical.com |
Overview
Duration: 2:00
What is the Ubuntu Security Guide?
Security Technical Implementation Guides like the CIS benchmark or DISA-STIG have hundreds of configuration recommendations, so hardening and auditing a Linux system manually can be very tedious. Ubuntu Security Guide (USG) is a new tool available with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS that greatly improves the usability of hardening and auditing, and allows for environment-specific customizations. The following sections provide more information on hardening and auditing with usg.
In this tutorial, we will learn how to audit with the CIS benchmark or DISA-STIG on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS machines, while using an Ubuntu Advantage or Ubuntu Pro subscription.
Understanding the UA client
The Ubuntu Advantage (UA) client is a tool designed to automate access to UA services like Extended Security Maintenance (ESM), USG, FIPS, and more.
What youāll learn:
- How to check which version of the UA client is installed on your machine and how to update it if necessary
- How to attach the UA client to your Ubuntu Advantage account using your UA token
- How to enable the USG on your Ubuntu machine
- How to perform an audit for CIS or DISA-STIG
What youāll need:
-
An active Ubuntu Advantage for Infrastructure or Ubuntu Pro subscription.
-
An Ubuntu machine running a fresh install* of Ubuntu server or desktop 20.04 LTS
-
Please note that if you use the tool to harden an existing Ubuntu image, the hardening process may take long.
Installing the UA client
Duration: 4:00
In this step, we will install the latest version of the UA client to ensure that it contains support for USG. Use the following commands:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install ubuntu-advantage-tools
Retrieving your UA token from the Ubuntu Advantage dashboard and attaching it to the UA client
Duration: 5:00
If you are enabling USG on an Ubuntu Pro instance, you can skip this step and go straight to step 4! For non-Pro images, your UA token is used to connect the UA client you have installed on your machines to your Ubuntu Advantage for Infrastructure subscription.
Letās first check whether we have already attached our UA token to the UA client by running :
$ sudo ua status
SERVICE AVAILABLE DESCRIPTION
esm-infra yes UA Infra: Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)
fips yes NIST-certified FIPS modules
fips-updates yes Uncertified security updates to FIPS modules
livepatch yes Canonical Livepatch service
This machine is not attached to a UA subscription.
See [https://ubuntu.com/advantage](https://ubuntu.com/advantage)
We can see that this is not yet attached to a UA subscription. Letās fix that now.
Your UA token can be found on your Ubuntu Advantage dashboard. To access your dashboard, you need an Ubuntu One account. If you still need to create one, ensure that you use the email address used to purchase your subscription.
The Ubuntu One account functions as a Single Sign On, so once logged in we can go straight to the Ubuntu Advantage dashboard at ubuntu.com/advantage. Then click on the āMachinesā column in the Your Paid Subscriptions table to reveal your token.
Now weāre ready to attach our UA token to the UA client:
$ sudo ua attach <your_ua_token>
Enabling default service esm-infra
Updating package lists
ESM Infra enabled
Enabling default service livepatch
Canonical livepatch enabled.
This machine is now attached to 'your account name'
SERVICE ENTITLED STATUS DESCRIPTION
cis yes disabled Center for Internet Security Audit Tools
esm-infra yes enabled UA Infra: Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)
fips yes n/a NIST-certified FIPS modules
fips-updates yes n/a Uncertified security updates to FIPS modules
livepatch yes enabled Canonical Livepatch service
Enabling the Ubuntu Security Guide
Duration: 3:00
Now it is time to enable USG. First, we want to run the following command to see the USG service and its status:
$ ua status --all
We should see an output like this:
SERVICE ENTITLED STATUS DESCRIPTION
cc-eal yes n/a Common Criteria EAL2 Provisioning Packages
usg yes n/a Security compliance and audit tools
esm-apps no ā UA Apps: Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)
esm-infra yes enabled UA Infra: Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)
fips yes n/a NIST-certified FIPS modules
fips-updates yes n/a Uncertified security updates to FIPS modules
livepatch yes enabled Canonical Livepatch service
Enable services with: ua enable <service>
Now weāre ready to enable and install USG:
$ sudo ua enable usg
$ sudo apt install usg
One moment, checking your subscription first
Updating package lists
USG enabled
Run the Ubuntu Security Guide
Duration: 15:00
You have successfully enabled USG tool and are ready to use it to audit or harden your Ubuntu machine. To audit use the following command, replacing <PROFILE> with cis_level1_server, with cis_level1_workstation or disa_stig, depending on the compliance target.
$ sudo usg audit <PROFILE>
The output of this command will show the compliance status, and it will also point to an html file containing the audit report. Use a browser to view the file. It will look similarly to the one below.
For more complex operations you can proceed with the steps from Ubuntuās Security certifications documentation to complete the hardening process.
Congratulations!
Duration: 1:00
Congratulations, you have successfully used the UA client to audit your Ubuntu image!