Securing Sensitive CL Commands from Abuse

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SecureMyi.com Security and Systems Management Newsletter for the IBM i May 27, 2015 - Vol 5, Issue 7

	Feature Article Securing Sensitive CL Commands from Abuse By Dan Riehl - SecureMyi.com Several IBM supplied Control Language commands have restrictions on their use. Commands like CRTUSRPRF(Create User Profile) and CHGUSRPRF(Change User Profile) require that the user have, at the minimum, SECADM special authority. Other commands like PWRDWNSYS(Power Down System) and ENDSBS(End Subsystem) can only be used by users with JOBCTL special authority. Most commands, however, are available for use by any user on the system. Commands can be run directly from the command line, executed from within a program or batch job stream, or can be run through network interfaces like RMTCMD(Remote Command), FTP and ODBC/JDBC(using the QCMDEXC program). Each command has an attribute that specifies whether limited capabilities users can enter the command at the command line. A user is identified as 'limited' if their user profile specifies *LMTCPB(YES). There are only a handful of commands that allow 'limited' users to run the command at a command line. These are commands like DSPJOB(Display Job) and DSPMSG(Display Messages). We consider 'limited capability' users as being restricted from using the command line. In reality, they CAN enter commands at a command line, as long as the particular command allows for it. For more information, see our Youtube Video on "Misconceptions about the Limited Capabilities attribute on a User Profile"*. Since there are so many different methods to run commands, and so many different types of user capabilities and special authorities, it is important to tightly control some of the more powerful and sensitive commands. On most systems, a majority of the users have JOBCTL special authority. I have heard countless reasons for this configuration debacle, which I will not rehash here. The point here is that the powerful commands available to these users must be controlled. The ability to use commands like PWRDWNSYS, ENDSBS and ENDSYS should not be available to every user with JOBCTL, but should be restricted to a very small group of users. Please review the Security Shorts* Column in this issue for the related article, "When Securing Commands, Don't Miss any Command Users". I recommend that we control access to powerful and sensitive commands using authorization lists. In this context, the authorization list is a list of users and the commands they can use. For example, we create an authorization list named SYSADMIN. This list will identify system administrators, and the powerful commands they can use. Here is the command to create the authorization list. CRTAUTL AUTL(SYSADMIN) AUT(EXCLUDE)* *Read More . . .*
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Security Related News for IBM i State of IBM i Security Study 2015 Released PowerTech, a division of HelpSystems has announced the release of the 2015 State of IBM i Security Study. Now in its 12th year, the study includes data from 110 servers and partitions reviewed using PowerTech’s automated assessment tool. The participating organizations spanned a broad range of industries, including finance, healthcare, communication, transportation and others. You can Download the Free 2015 Security Study Here Live Security Related Webcasts and Training for IBM i June Events Live Hands-On - Security and Vulnerability Assessment Workshop for IBM i with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - June 2-5 - Presented by SecureMyi and The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 4-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend Live Hands-On - IBM i Concepts with Control Language Programming Workshop with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - June 15-19 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 5-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend Live Hands-On - IBM i, iSeries System Administration and Control Workshop with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - June 22-26 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 5-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend Live Hands-On - IBM i, iSeries, AS/400 Expanded Security Workshop with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - June 29 -July 2 - Presented by SecureMyi and The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 4-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend July Events Live Hands-On - QAUDJRN Auditing and Forensic Analysis Workshop for IBM i with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - July 7 - 8 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 2-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend Live Hands-On - Expanded System Operations Workshop for IBM i, iSeries, AS/400 with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - July 13-17 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 5-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend Live Hands-On - Query for i WRKQRY Workshop for Technical Staff and End Users with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - July 28 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this Full-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend August Events Live Hands-On - IBM i, iSeries System Administration and Control Workshop with Dan Riehl Training Workshop - August 10-14 - Presented by The 400 School, Inc. Dan Riehl presents this 5-Day Live Online Hands-on Workshop. More Information and Register to Attend
Security Shorts When Securing Commands, Don't Miss any Command Users By Dan Riehl - SecureMyi.com When deciding who will be authorized to use a particular command, like ENDSBS(End Subsystem), it is important that you do not leave anyone out that needs to use the command. You do not want to get a call at 3:00am telling you that the batch job just blew up because the job was running under the user profile JSMITH, and you neglected to add JSMITH to the authorization list that secures the ENDSBS command. I suggest that before you implement new restrictions CL command usage that you get some history of who is using the commands. Once you have a list of users that use the commands, you can then restrict usage to just that select group. To get a history of who is using a command, you will need to start auditing the command usage and then generate your command usage reports. To start auditing the use of the ENDSBS command you can use the command: *CHGOBJAUD OBJ(QSYS/ENDSBS) OBJTYPE(CMD) OBJAUD(ALL)* To get reports on command usage you can use the command: CPYAUDJRNE ENTTYP(CD) OUTFILE(MYLIB/QAUDIT) This command will create the file QAUDITCD that you can view with SQL, Query or download to Excel. You will need to filter the result file to select only those records where the Command used is ENDSBS.		Sponsored Links IBM i, iSeries and AS/400 Security Services from SecureMyi IT Security and Compliance Group In Depth Security Assessment of IBM i Upgrade to QSECURITY level 40 or 50 Forensic Research and Analysis Audit Assistance and Remediation Security Training for IT and Audit Staff Software Selection & Configuration Security and Systems Programming LIVE Training from The 400 School, Inc Customized IBM i (iSeries, AS/400) Training - Presented Live at your offices LIVE Online Hands-On Workshops Security and Auditing Workshops System Operations Workshops System Administration and Control ILE RPG IV Programming ILE COBOL Programming Control Language Programming IBM i Concepts and Facilities Query Workshop


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