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OpenBSD chflags vs. Log Tampering
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Undeadly ☛ When Root Meets Immutable: OpenBSD chflags vs. Log Tampering
In a recent blog post When Root Meets Immutable: OpenBSD chflags vs. Log Tampering, Rafael Sadowski (rsadowski@) takes a deep dive into an infrequently mentioned feature of our favorite operating system: file immutability and the chflags command. From the article: [...]
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Rafael Sadowski ☛ When Root Meets Immutable: OpenBSD chflags vs. Log Tampering
ISO 27001 is like that careful lawyer who never says exactly what they mean – it tells you what needs to be achieved, not how to do it. When it comes to logging, this is particularly telling: Control A.12.4.2 simply states that “logging information and logging facilities shall be protected against tampering and unauthorized access.” Period. How? That’s your problem to solve.
But anyone who’s ever had to investigate a security incident knows the harsh reality: logs are only as trustworthy as their protection against post-incident tampering. An attacker who gains root access isn’t going to politely leave their tracks in the log files – unless they physically can’t alter them anymore.