SELinux is a flexible and powerful technology, which can be easily configured to mitigate the technical impacts of many weaknesses and vulnerabilities. SELinux is shipped with a default configuration that does not require ordinary user intervention. However, usability comes at the expense of security. SELinux has a lot of useful security features and protections that can be used to harden security, without limitations. More information about real-world benefits and examples can be found in the article SELinux as a security pillar of an operating system .

Ansible is an automation tool that provides management of multiple hosts, nodes with SSH. Ansible has to be installed on one control node, which manages other hosts. It uses a playbook, where a set of instructions is applied to hosts.

In the selinux-playbook is loaded SELinux role and local SELinux modifications are extracted to the file .defaultconf. Next, it sequentially executes all defined tasks. Booleans configuration is based on files cant_connect.yml, deny_execmem.yml and deny_export.yml, which denies the domains connecting to the port, export files or execute the memory/ heap/ stack. In the next step, Linux users are mapped into the SELinux policy. After that, unconfined module and permissive domains are disabled. Moreover, configurations were designed that allow users to revert SELinux deployed configurations and to lockdown the SELinux system to prevent any modifications.

The Ansible tool has to be installed to configure and apply playbooks. For SELinux configuration, Ansible also needs the SELinux role to be installed. All necessary packages are installed by following commands:

# dnf install linux-system-roles

# dnf install rhel-system-roles

Download SELinux configuration in Ansible:

$ git clone https://github.com/fedora-selinux/selinux-playbooks.git

Move into SELinux hardening directory:

$ cd SELinux-playbooks/selinux-hardening

Currently, a configuration is targeted on the localhost. In the directory inventory is the file hosts.yaml, in which can be defined hosts.

[group]
address

For example:

[webservers]
192.168.122.164

When managing multiple hosts, it is necessary to define them to the hosts in the main configuration file selinux-playbook.yml and use the -i inventory/hosts option when running a playbook.

Linux users are mapped into SELinux policy in file the /users/user_mapping.yml.

• After login is written username, that will be confined by SELinux user.
• The SELinux user is defined after seuser.
• When state has the value:
  • present - the user is mapped into SELinux users,
  • absent - the user is removed from the policy.

# Usage:
user_mapping:
  - { login: '<username>', seuser: '<selinux_user>', state: '<absent/present>'}

For example:

user_mapping:
  - { login: '__default__', seuser: 'unconfined_u', state: 'present' }
  - { login: 'niki', seuser: 'staff_u', state: 'present'}

For quick and simple SELinux configuration, parts of SELinux Policy are booleans. They can customize SELinux policy by enabling or disabling them. To turn on, change state to on, to turn off, change state to off. Each boolean has a description in the SELinux man page.

# Boolean description
      - { name: 'boolean_name', state: 'on/off', persistent: 'yes/no' }

For example:

# Allow cluster administrative domains to connect to the network using TCP.
      - { name: 'cluster_can_network_connect', state: 'off', persistent: 'yes' }

SELinux memory checks:

• execmem: make executable an anonymous mapping or private file mapping that is writable,
• execheap: make the heap executable,
• execstack: make the main process stack executable,
• execmod: make executable a file that has been modified by copy-on-write.

These memory checks allow for the blocking of known attacks, like buffer over-flows and code errors, that could lead to privilege escalations. If the process requiresone of the listed permissions, it is probably not good coding style, and should bereported to application maintainers.

SELinux has several booleans to prevent execution of memory, stack, and heap:

The state of booleans for memory protection is configured in /files/execmem.yml. To allow domains execmem, certain booleans have to change value.

Files to share by Samba, GlusterFS or NFS are managed in /files/deny_export.yml. If some files have to be shared, the related boolean needs to be turned on. Each boolean has a description.

Samba is using the file and printer sharing protocol. To share files via Samba, files have to be labeled as samba_share_t. In the SELinux policy for Samba booleans are defined , which allow sharing all files in home directories or all filesystem files or Network File System files

Network File System(NFS) is the protocol for sharing and storing files and directories, over the network. To share any read-only files and directories, or all files and directories via NFS, certain booleans have to be turned on.

GlusterFS is a scalable network filesystem suitable for data-intensive tasks such as cloud storage and media streaming Gluster services also require SELinux to be enabled, to share read-only files and directories, or all files and directories

To prevent unauthorized connection or transfer of information, all booleans which allow domains to connect to any port will be disabled. Network connections of domains are determined in ./files/cant_connect.yml. By default all domains have turned off booleans, which allow them to connect to network ports in this configuration. If some domain needs to connect to a port, the state of the relevant boolean has to be on. Each boolean has a description

SELinux modules can be managed in /files/modules.yml.

# Usage:
manage_modules:
  - { name: '<module name>', priority: '<priority number>', state: '<absent/present>'}

In the /files/modules.yml are disabled modules that manage unconfined and permissive domains.

manage_modules:
      - {name: 'unconfined', state: 'disabled'}
      - {name: 'permissivedomains', state: 'disabled'}

# ansible-playbook selinux-playbook.yml -i inventory/hosts

To return the SELinux configuration to before Ansible configuration, the revert option was added in ./revert/revert-playbook.yml.Hosts are defined in the directory Inventory, in the file hosts.yaml, currently targeted on the localhost. When running this playbook, the user is asked if he wants to reboot the system. If yes, the system is rebooted afterward.

Run Revert playbook:

# ansible-playbook revert/revert-playbook.yml -i inventory/hosts

For system lockdown, there is another playbook, located in system-lockdown/selinux-lockdown-playbook.yml. In this playbook are used 3 powerful SELinux booleans, that disallow processes from transitioning to privileged user domains, prevent confined users from inserting Linux Kernel modules (e.g SELinux policymodule) and managing SELinux policy. Booleans are listed in the following table:

When the last boolean, secure_mode_policyload, is enabled, users can onlydisable SELinux policy, during booting, by editing boot configuration. This playbook should be executed only when the user knows what he is doing. Hosts are again targeted on the localhost and can be defined in the directory Inventory in the file hosts.yaml. If this playbook is executed, with all secure booleans enabled, users will not beable to revert system lockdown, by executing the revert playbook. Moreover, userswill not be able to perform any operations with SELinux

Run system-lockdown playbook:

# ansible-playbook system-lockdown/selinux-lockdown-playbook.yml -i inventory/hosts