pyHIDS 0.5.1

A host-based intrusion detection system.

pyHIDS

Presentation

pyHIDS is a HIDS (host-based intrusion detection system) for verifying the integrity of a system. It uses an RSA signature to check the integrity of its database. Alerts are written in the logs of the system and can be sent via email to a list of users. You can define rules to specify files to be checked periodically.

It is recommended to use Python >= 3.11.

Features

• checks the integrity of system's files with a list of rules;
• checks the output of commands (iptables, ...);
• uses an RSA signature to check the integrity of its database;
• alerts are written in the logs of the system;
• alerts can be sent via email to a list of users;
• alerts can be sent on IRC channels through the irker IRC client (which should be running as a daemon).

Configuration

The configuration is really easy. First get pyHIDS source code and copy the sample configuration file:

$ git clone https://github.com/cedricbonhomme/pyHIDS.git
$ cd pyHIDS/
$ cp ./conf.cfg-sample ./conf.cfg
$ poetry install

Then edit the file conf.cfg:

[globals]
nb_bits = 2048
[irc]
channel = irc://chat.freenode.net/#testpyHIDS
host = localhost
port = 6659
[email]
enabled = 0
mail_from = [e-mail]
mail_to = you_address
smtp = SMTP_server
username = your_username
password = your_password
[files]
file1 = /etc/crontab
file2 = /boot/grub/grub.cfg
file3 = /etc/shadow
file4 = /etc/networks
[rules]
rule1 = conf$ /etc
rule2 = list /etc/apt
rule3 = .* /bin
[commands]
iptables = /sbin/iptables -L

Description of the sections:

• globals: set the number of bits of the RSA keys;
• irc: configure notifications sent via IRC;
• email: configure the email notifications. Set the value of "enabled" to 1 to activate notifications;
• files: list of files to scan;
• rules: regular expression to specify files in a folder;
• commands: command's output to check.

Example of use

$ pyhids-genKeys
Generating 2048 bits RSA keys ...
Dumping Keys
Done.

$ pyhids-genBase
Generating database...
543 files in the database.

$ pyhids-run

Modify a character in the file /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf and relaunch the program:

$ pyhids-run
[01/03/13 15:05:31] [warning] /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf changed.

The program warns that the file has changed. When this happens, a warning is generated in the logs /var/log/syslog and a mail is sent to the administrator. If no change is detected only the log file is updated.

Automatic execution

Use the time-based job scheduler, Cron, in order to schedule system scans. In your shell enter the command:

$ crontab -e

And add the following line to check the integrity of the system every fifty minutes:

*/50 * * * * pyhids-run

After each system check, pyHIDS sends a report to the administrators. In the case of an attacker who has deleted the cron line, for example.

License

pyHIDS is under GPLv3 license.

Copyright (C) 2010-2023 Cédric Bonhomme