Cron utility for tiger unix security checker
tigercron [controlfile] [-B basedir] [tigeroptions...]
Tigercron is used to run periodically checks from the Tiger UNIX Security Checker. Tigercron reads a control file which is usually located in '/etc/tiger/cronrc' although it can also be specificied as the first argument when calling the program. The format of this control file is the same as for the cron program, each line indicates when different checks from Tiger will be run. The user can indicate where Tiger is installed through the -B basedir parameter, any other additional options provided in the command line will be passed on to configure to configure Tiger based on them (as described in tiger (8)).
Tigercron runs the specified checks and compares their reports with previous stored reports (under /var/log/tiger). It will then mail the user defined in '/etc/tiger/tigerrc' (Tiger_Mail_RCPT) the results.
When a module is run, tigercron checks:
If Tiger_Cron_Template is set to Y in tigerrc. If it is, it checks if there is a template stating which are the expected results.
If Tiger_Cron_CheckPrev is set to Y in tigerrc. If it is, it checks if there is a previous run of the module it can check against.
A differential report is generated depending on the module reports and previous run and is sent through e-mail. These reports provide an easy way to detect intrusions even if no configuration of templates has been done. In the event of an intrusion a Tiger check might detect something specific (file changes, new processes, new users, etc.) and this alert mechanism provides a way to turn Tiger into a Host Intrusion Detection System (HIDS).
The ability of it to work as a proper HIDS is based on a good customization of the cronrc file. Modules that check events to which the host is most exposed to should be run often in order to detect deviations from normal behaviour.
Tigercron uses the same options as Tiger. A controlfile can be defined also to override the default.
/etc/tiger/tigerrc
Configuration file for the Tiger tool.
/etc/tiger/cronrc
Configuration file for the Tigercron tool.
/var/log/tiger
Location of the log messages generated by Tiger when run through cron
/var/lib/tiger/work
Working directory used by Tiger scripts to create temporary files.
tigexp(8),tiger(8),cron(8),crontab(5)
The deficiencies of using tigercron as a HIDS are described in the file README.hostids which is provided with the package. In Debian GNU/Linux you will find this (and other related) documentation at /usr/share/doc/tiger/
Currently Tigercron has only one alert mechanism (mail) and signatures are not supported. Thus, alerts could be faked. Also, it is dependant on cron and will not work if cron is not working.
This manpage was written by Javier Fernandez-Sanguino.