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auditctl prints "No rules" when auditd service is starting

This document (7022714) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment


SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

Situation

During server boot up, when auditd is starting, auditctl prints "No rules":
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 systemd[1]: Starting Security Auditing Service...
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 auditd[2712]: Started dispatcher: /sbin/audispd pid: 2714
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 kernel: audit: type=1305 audit(1520449830.345:2): audit_pid=2712 old=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 res=1
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 audispd[2714]: priority_boost_parser called with: 4
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 audispd[2714]: max_restarts_parser called with: 10
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 audispd[2714]: No plugins found, exiting
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 auditd[2712]: Init complete, auditd 2.3.6 listening for events (startup state enable)
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 auditctl[2716]: No rules
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 auditctl[2716]: AUDIT_STATUS: enabled=1 flag=1 pid=2712 rate_limit=0 backlog_limit=320 lost=0 backlog=1
Mar 07 11:10:30 linux-t2o9 systemd[1]: Started Security Auditing Service.
The same "auditctl [ ] No rules" is shown when checking auditd service status information with: "systemctl status auditd.service", even though "auditctl -l" lists available rules.

Resolution

The "No rules" message is correct and expected. It's printed because auditctl was successful.

Cause

The "No rules" message is printed instead of a list of rules if the list is empty.
The default audit.rules file (/etc/audit/audit.rules) contains the following lines:
# First rule - delete all
  -D
The auditctl source  code shows that auditctl lists rules after deleting them, so the message reports that '-D' was successful.

Additional Information


Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

  • Document ID:7022714
  • Creation Date: 07-Mar-2018
  • Modified Date:03-Mar-2020
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

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