S 3.68 Training the administrators of a Samba server

Initiation responsibility: IT Security Officer, Head of IT

Implementation responsibility: IT Security Officer

In order to correctly and securely administrate the Samba service, the administrators responsible must be trained accordingly. Even minor configuration errors may lead to security gaps. Due to the differences between the Unix and Windows file systems, the correct configuration and administration of access restrictions in particular requires sound knowledge of the existing capabilities and their limitations. Due to the high degree of interaction between the security mechanisms of Samba and the underlying operating system, the administrators of the Samba server must be familiar with the security mechanisms of the operating system. This also applies when the administrators of the Samba server are not simultaneously responsible for the administration of the operating system.

In addition to the general security of the operating system, the following aspects also need to be included in the training measure:

• Methods of installing the Samba service (installation using the package manager of the distribution used, compilation from the source code).
• Configuration options of the Samba service and the syntax of the configuration files.
• Mechanisms used by the Samba service for user authentication and the advantages, disadvantages, and areas of application of each mechanism.
• Method of operation of the protocols used in a Windows NT4 domain and in an Active Directory domain.
• Potential vulnerabilities of protocols used in an NT4 domain and in an Active Directory domain. For example, the administrators must be taught that data transmissions using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol are always unencrypted.
• Differences between the file systems used in Windows and Unix and how Samba deals with these differences.
• Interaction of access restrictions in the Samba configuration with the access authorisations at the file system level.
• Safeguards for ensuring the availability of a Samba server.

Review questions:

• Are the administrators familiar with the corresponding security-relevant aspects of a Samba server such as the fact that the SMB protocol does not support any form of encryption for the transmitted data?
• Have the administrators been trained as to how to handle the operating system used and of its security-relevant aspects?
• Are the administrators familiar with the various ways of installing and configuring Samba?
• Are the administrators familiar with the mechanisms used by Samba servers for user authentication?
• Do the administrators have a good command of the protocols used in a Windows NT 4.0 domain and in an Active Directory domain and do they know their vulnerabilities?
• Are the administrators familiar with the differences between the file systems used in Windows and Unix and how Samba deals with these differences?
• Do the administrators understand how the access authorisations in the Samba configuration interact with the access authorisation configuration at the file system level?
• Are the administrators familiar with the safeguards implemented to ensure the availability of a Samba server?