Unprotected Account
Summary
Accounts with simple or no passwords.
Impact
A unauthorized user could gain access to the system.
Problem
Some system accounts such as sync, lp, or guest may not have passwords.
The hacker can gain access to the system if he exploits one of these
accounts. Further, once inside, the hacker may gain root access by
employing a local exploit.
Fix
- Remove the account from the system and/or passwd file.
- Disable these accounts by (1) disabling login, (2) setting
the home directory to /dev/null, or (3) setting the default
shell to /bin/false.