## ProFTPD module `mod_cap`

Linux capabilities is a project aimed at providing the POSIX.1e security model under Linux. Documentation for this project can be found here:

      ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs/security/linux-privs

Without going into gory detail, POSIX.1e basically specifies an interface to such goodies as capabilities, capability sets, access control lists, mandatory access control and much, much more. The end result of this security model allows compliant systems and daemons to have very fine-grained control over what operations are allowed by which services on the system.

The best part of the whole story is that Linux kernels (since 2.1) already have two important facets of the security model in place, namely capabilities and capability sets. Using these features allows a userland program to specifically drop capabilities (which can be thought of as "privileges") which it does not need. Once such capabilities are completely dropped, neither the userland program nor any binary it should spawn will be allowed to perform privileged operations, regardless of whether the program is running as root or not. Essentially, this limits the power of root to only those specific functions that are necessary, with the end effect of making the program much more secure.

A contributed module has been added in the `proftpd` distribution, named `mod_cap`. It can be found in the `modules/` directory.

The `libcap` library provides the interface between `mod_cap` and the capability syscalls present in Linux kernels. (Note that this library can be found at www.kernel.org or sourceforge.net/projects/linux-privs).

When `proftpd` runs with `mod_cap` installed, its operation changes slightly:

- The master `proftpd` process runs as normal, with full capabilities.

- The child `proftpd` processes, the ones that handle FTP sessions, drop all capabilities-except for `CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE` (which allows a process to bind to port less than 1024) and `CAP_CHOWN` (which allows a process to change a file's ownership)-immediately after a client has authenticated.

  Additionally, switching back and forth between root privileges and the authenticated user's privileges is no longer possible.

Installation instructions for `mod_cap` can be found here.

The most current version of `mod_cap` can be found in the ProFTPD source distribution:

      http://www.proftpd.org/

## Directives

- CapabilitiesEngine
- CapabilitiesRootRevoke
- CapabilitiesSet

## CapabilitiesEngine

Syntax: CapabilitiesEngine on|off
Default: on
Context: server config, `<VirtualHost>`, `<Global>`
Module: mod_cap
Compatibility: 1.2.8rc2 and later

The `CapabilitesEngine` directive enables or disables the module's runtime capabilities engine. If it is set to off this module does no runtime capabilities processing at all. Use this directive to disable the module.

## CapabilitiesRootRevoke

Syntax: CapabilitiesRootRevoke on|off
Default: CapabilitiesRootRevoke on
Context: server config, `<VirtualHost>`, `<Global>`
Module: mod_cap
Compatibility: 1.3.5rc1 and later

By default, the `mod_cap` module will revoke (i.e. drop) root privileges entirely, once the necessary capabilities have been set. Use the `CapabilitiesRootRevoke` directive to change this default behavior, e.g.:

      CapabilitiesRootRevoke off

## CapabilitiesSet

Syntax: CapabilitiesSet [+|- cap] ...
Default: None
Context: server config, `<VirtualHost>`, `<Global>`
Module: mod_cap
Compatibility: 1.2.8rc2 and later

The `CapabilitiesSet` directive is used to manipulate the set of capabilities that `mod_cap` grants.

By default, `mod_cap` removes all but a few capabilities from the session-handling process: `CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE`, for binding to ports lower than 1024 (required for active data transfers), and `CAP_CHOWN`, for allowing a process to change a file's ownership to a different user. The `CAP_CHOWN` capability is only strictly necessary if the `UserOwner` configuration directive is in use; if not being used, the `CAP_CHOWN` capability is best removed. Additionally, `CAP_AUDIT_WRITE` is retained if the `mod_auth_pam` module is present, as this capability is needed for some PAM modules such as `pam_loginuid`.

To remove a capability, prefix the name with a '-'; to enable a capability, use '+'. This directive supports the following capabilities:

- `CAP_CHOWN`
- `CAP_DAC_OVERRIDE` (override all directory access controls)
- `CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH` (allow read and search directory access)
- `CAP_FOWNER`

Example:

      <IfModule mod_cap.c>
        CapabilitiesEngine on
        CapabilitiesSet -CAP_CHOWN +CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH +CAP_FOWNER
      </IfModule>

## Installation

The `mod_cap` module is automatically included when `proftpd` is built on a Linux system that supports capabilities; to disable this automatic inclusion, use the `--disable-cap` configure option.

## FAQ

Question: Why do I see the following in my system logs?

      warning: `proftpd' uses 32-bit capabilities (legacy support in use)

Answer: This warning is coming from the use of the libcap library. A newer version of the libcap library (called the "libcap2" or "libcap2-dev" package on some Linux distributions) is now available.

To remove the above warning, you will need to update/install the newer libcap2 or libcap2-dev package on your system, and re-build proftpd (using version 1.3.2rc1 or later) in order to compile and link against the newer libcap library.

Question: What does the following mean?

      chown() as root failed: Operation not permitted

Answer: The purpose of the `mod_cap` module is to restrict the capabilities of the all-powerful `root` user. Thus when `mod_cap` is in effect, operations like `chown()` are restricted.

The message above usually happens when your configuration uses the `UserOwner` or `GroupOwner` configuration directives. To enable those directives to function and still use `mod_cap`, you will need to use a configuration such as:

      <IfModule mod_cap.c>
        # Allow root to use chown(2)
        CapabilitiesSet -CAP_CHOWN
      </IfModule>

Author: $Author: castaglia $
Last Updated: $Date: 2012/12/26 17:21:10 $

© Copyright 2000-2012 TJ Saunders
All Rights Reserved