DISA STIGS Viewer

AlmaLinux OS 9 must be configured to disable USB mass storage.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-269357 ALMA-09-031370 SV-269357r1050240_rule   Medium
Description
USB mass storage permits easy introduction of unknown devices, thereby facilitating malicious activity. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000095-GPOS-00049, SRG-OS-000378-GPOS-00163, SRG-OS-000114-GPOS-00059, SRG-OS-000690-GPOS-00140
STIG Date
CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2025-05-22

Details

Check Text (C-73388r1049542_chk)
Verify that AlmaLinux OS 9 disables the ability to load the USB Storage kernel module with the following command:

$ grep -r usb-storage /etc/modprobe.conf /etc/modprobe.d/*

/etc/modprobe.d/usb-storage.conf:install usb-storage /bin/false
/etc/modprobe.d/usb-storage.conf:blacklist usb-storage

If the command does not return any output, or the line is commented out, and use of usb-storage is not documented with the information system security officer (ISSO) as an operational requirement, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-73289r1048448_fix)
To configure the system to prevent the usb-storage kernel module from being loaded, run the following command:

$ cat << EOF | tee /etc/modprobe.d/usb-storage.conf
install usb-storage /bin/false
blacklist usb-storage
EOF