Ensure clean_partial_conns is enabled

MediumLevel 1Automatedaix

Description

The clean_partial_conns parameter determines whether or not the system is open to SYN attacks. This parameter, when enabled, clears down connections in the SYN RECEIVED state after a set period of time. This attempts to stop DoS attacks when a hacker may flood a system with SYN flag set packets. The clean_partial_conns parameter will be set to 1, to clear down pending SYN received connections after a set period of time. Audit: `no -o clean_partial_conns` must report 1.

How it is checked

Audit method: Shell command

shell

command -v no >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1; out=$(no -o clean_partial_conns 2>/dev/null) || exit 1; printf '%s\n' "$out" | sed 's/[[:blank:]]*=[[:blank:]]*/=/'

Expected output: clean_partial_conns=1

How it is fixed

Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch

no -p -o clean_partial_conns=1 (sets the running value and makes it persistent in /etc/tunables/nextboot)

Properties

Operating systems: Any
Tags: aixhardening
Reference: CIS IBM AIX 7 Benchmark v1.2.0 - 4.5.3 Ensure clean_partial_conns is enabled

Check this host

Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.

shell

tmaegis scan --target aix