CIS 2.2 — Give the BIND User Account an Invalid Shell

---
name: cis-bind-v100-2-2-8a5ca00d062a
description: "Give the BIND User Account an Invalid Shell (Automated)"
category: cis-bind
version: "1.0"
author: cyberstrike-official
tags: [cis, bind, dns, isc-bind, bind9, permissions-ownership]
cis_id: "2.2"
cis_benchmark: "CIS ISC BIND DNS Server 9.11 Benchmark v1.0.0"
tech_stack: [bind, isc-bind, dns, linux]
cwe_ids: []
chains_with: []
prerequisites: []
severity_boost: {}
---

# CIS 2.2 — Give the BIND User Account an Invalid Shell

## Profile Applicability

- Authoritative Name Server Level 1
- Caching Only Name Server Level 1

## Description

The BIND user account, named by default, must not be used as a regular login account, and should be assigned an invalid or `nologin` shell to ensure that the account cannot be used to login.

## Rationale

Service accounts such as the `named` account represent a risk if they can be used to get a login shell to the system.

## Impact

Not specified.

## Audit Procedure

Check the `named` login shell in the `/etc/passwd` file:

```bash
# grep named /etc/passwd
named:x:25:25:Named:/var/named:/sbin/nologin
```

The named account shell must be `/sbin/nologin` or `/bin/false` or `/dev/null` similar to the entry shown

## Remediation

Change the named account to use the `nologin` shell as shown:

```bash
# chsh -s /sbin/nologin named
```

## Default Value

/bin/false

## References

None listed.

## CIS Controls

| Controls Version | Control                           | IG 1 | IG 2 | IG 3 |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------- | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| v6               | 16 Account Monitoring and Control | Y    | Y    | Y    |
| v7               | 4.7 Limit Access to Script Tools  | N    | Y    | Y    |

## MITRE ATT&CK Mappings

| Tactic               | Technique            |
| -------------------- | -------------------- |
| Persistence          | T1136 Create Account |
| Privilege Escalation | T1078 Valid Accounts |

## Profile

- Level 1 - Authoritative Name Server
- Level 1 - Caching Only Name Server