TMA-AIX-2.7
Ensure unused symbolic links are removed
Description
This recommendation finds and removes symbolic links whose targets are missing. Symbolic Links that do not have a valid target are a risk to system integrity. The recommendation is to scan frequently (weekly or daily) for symbolic links without a valid target object and remove them. Do not assume that anyone responsible for maintaining system integrity is (actively) monitoring unknown software. Symbolic links - pointing at nothing - are, by definition, unauthorized and/or belong on a blocklist. Audit: lists dangling symbolic links on local JFS/JFS2 filesystems (long running).
How it is checked
Audit method: Shell command
command -v find >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1; out=$( { find -L / \( -fstype jfs -o -fstype jfs2 \) -type l -ls ; } 2>/dev/null ); [ -z "$out" ] && echo compliant || printf '%s\n' "$out" | head -n 20- Expected output
compliant
How it is fixed
Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch
The following command will remove all symbolic links that lack a valid target object: find -L / \( -fstype jfs -o -fstype jfs2 \) -type l | xargs rm
Properties
- Operating systems
- Any
- Tags
- aixhardening
- Reference
- CIS IBM AIX 7 Benchmark v1.2.0 - 2.7 Ensure unused symbolic links are removed
Check this host
Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.
tmaegis scan --target aix