file resource
Use the file
Chef InSpec audit resource to test all system file types, including files, directories, symbolic links, named pipes, sockets, character devices, block devices, and doors.
Availability
Installation
This resource is distributed along with Chef InSpec itself. You can use it automatically.
Version
This resource first became available in v1.0.0 of InSpec.
Syntax
A file
resource block declares the location of the file type to be tested, the expected file type (if required), and one (or more) resource properties.
describe file('path') do
it { should PROPERTY 'value' }
end
where
('path')
is the name of the file and/or the path to the file.PROPERTY
is a valid resource property for this resource''value'
is the value to be tested.
Properties
General Properties
content
size
basename
path
owner
group
type
Unix/Linux Properties
symlink
mode
link_path
shallow_link_path
mtime
size
selinux_label
md5sum
sha256sum
path
source
source_path
uid
gid
Windows Properties
file_version
product_version
Resource Property Examples
content
The content
property tests if contents in the file match the value specified in a regular expression. The values of the content
property are arbitrary and depend on the file type being tested and also the type of information that is expected to be in that file:
its('content') { should match REGEX }
The following complete example tests the pg_hba.conf
file in PostgreSQL for MD5 requirements. The tests look at all host
and local
settings in that file, and then compare the MD5 checksums against the values in the test:
describe file('/etc/postgresql/9.1/main/pg_hba.conf') do
its('content') { should match(%r{local\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?md5}) }
its('content') { should match(%r{host\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?127.0.0.1\/32\s.*?md5}) }
its('content') { should match(%r{host\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?::1\/128\s.*?md5}) }
end
file_version
The file_version
property tests if a Windows file’s version matches the specified value. The difference between a file’s “file version” and “product version” is that the file version is the version number of the file itself, whereas the product version is the version number associated with the application from which that file originates:
its('file_version') { should eq '1.2.3' }
group
The group
property tests if the group to which a file belongs matches the specified value.
its('group') { should eq 'admins' }
The following examples show how to use this Chef InSpec audit resource.
link_path
The link_path
property tests if the file exists at the specified path. If the file is a symlink,
Chef InSpec will resolve the symlink recursively and return the ultimate linked file.
its('link_path') { should eq '/some/path/to/file' }
shallow_link_path
The shallow_link_path
property returns the path that the file refers to, only resolving
it once (that is, it performs a readlink operation). If the file is not a symlink, nil is returned.
its('shallow_link_path') { should eq '/some/path/to/file' }
md5sum
The md5sum
property tests if the MD5 checksum for a file matches the specified value.
its('md5sum') { should eq '3329x3hf9130gjs9jlasf2305mx91s4j' }
mode
The mode
property tests if the mode assigned to the file matches the specified value.
its('mode') { should cmp '0644' }
Chef InSpec octal values begin the numeric mode specification with zero.
For example, write:
{ should cmp '0644' }
not
{ should cmp '644' }
or write:
{ should cmp '01775' }
not
{ should cmp '1775' }
Without the zero prefix for the octal value, Chef InSpec will interpret it as the decimal value 644, which is octal 1024 or -----w-r-T
, and any test for a file that is -rw-r--r--
will fail.
Note: see the be_more_permissive_than(mode)
matcher for upper and lower bounds on file mode.
mtime
The mtime
property tests if the file modification time for the file matches the specified value. The mtime, where supported, is returned as the number of seconds since the epoch.
describe file('/') do
its('mtime') { should <= Time.now.to_i }
its('mtime') { should >= Time.now.to_i - 1000 }
end
owner
The owner
property tests if the owner of the file matches the specified value.
its('owner') { should eq 'root' }
product_version
The product_version
property tests if a Windows file’s product version matches the specified value. The difference between a file’s “file version” and “product version” is that the file version is the version number of the file itself, whereas the product version is the version number associated with the application from which that file originates.
its('product_version') { should eq '2.3.4' }
selinux_label
The selinux_label
property tests if the SELinux label for a file matches the specified value.
its('selinux_label') { should eq 'system_u:system_r:httpd_t:s0' }
sha256sum
The sha256sum
property tests if the SHA-256 checksum for a file matches the specified value.
its('sha256sum') { should eq 'b837ch38lh19bb8eaopl8jvxwd2e4g58jn9lkho1w3ed9jbkeicalplaad9k0pjn' }
size
The size
property tests if a file’s size matches, is greater than, or is less than the specified value. For example, equal:
its('size') { should eq 32375 }
Greater than:
its('size') { should > 64 }
Less than:
its('size') { should < 10240 }
type
The type
property tests for the file type. The available types are:
file
- the object is a file
directory
- the object is a directory
link
- the object is a symbolic link
pipe
- the object is a named pipe
socket
- the object is a socket
character_device
- the object is a character device
block_device
- the object is a block device
door
- the object is a door device
The type
method usually returns the type as a Ruby “symbol”. We recommend using the cmp
matcher to match
either by symbol or string.
For example:
its('type') { should eq :file }
its('type') { should cmp 'file' }
or:
its('type') { should eq :socket }
its('type') { should cmp 'socket' }
Test the contents of a file for MD5 requirements
describe file('/etc/postgresql/9.1/main/pg_hba.conf') do
its('content') { should match /local\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?md5/ }
its('content') { should match %r{/host\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?127.0.0.1\/32\s.*?md5/} }
its('content') { should match %r{/host\s.*?all\s.*?all\s.*?::1\/128\s.*?md5/} }
end
Test if a file exists
describe file('/tmp') do
it { should exist }
end
Test that a file does not exist
describe file('/tmpest') do
it { should_not exist }
end
Test if a path is a directory
describe file('/tmp') do
its('type') { should eq :directory }
it { should be_directory }
end
Test if a path is a file and not a directory
describe file('/proc/version') do
its('type') { should cmp 'file' }
it { should be_file }
it { should_not be_directory }
end
Test if a file is a symbolic link
describe file('/dev/stdout') do
its('type') { should cmp 'symlink' }
it { should be_symlink }
it { should_not be_file }
it { should_not be_directory }
end
Test if a file is a character device
describe file('/dev/zero') do
its('type') { should cmp 'character' }
it { should be_character_device }
it { should_not be_file }
it { should_not be_directory }
end
Test if a file is a block device
describe file('/dev/zero') do
its('type') { should cmp 'block' }
it { should be_character_device }
it { should_not be_file }
it { should_not be_directory }
end
Test the mode for a file
describe file('/dev') do
its('mode') { should cmp '00755' }
end
Test the owner of a file
describe file('/root') do
its('owner') { should eq 'root' }
end
Test if a file is owned by the root user
describe file('/dev') do
it { should be_owned_by 'root' }
end
Test the mtime for a file
describe file('/') do
its('mtime') { should <= Time.now.to_i }
its('mtime') { should >= Time.now.to_i - 1000 }
end
Test that a file’s size is between 64 and 10240
describe file('/') do
its('size') { should be > 64 }
its('size') { should be < 10240 }
end
Test that a file’s size is zero
describe file('/proc/cpuinfo') do
its('size') { should be 0 }
end
Test an MD5 checksum
require 'digest'
cpuinfo = file('/proc/cpuinfo').content
md5sum = Digest::MD5.hexdigest(cpuinfo)
describe file('/proc/cpuinfo') do
its('md5sum') { should eq md5sum }
end
Test an SHA-256 checksum
require 'digest'
cpuinfo = file('/proc/cpuinfo').content
sha256sum = Digest::SHA256.hexdigest(cpuinfo)
describe file('/proc/cpuinfo') do
its('sha256sum') { should eq sha256sum }
end
Verify NTP
The following example shows how to use the file
audit resource to verify if the ntp.conf
and leap-seconds
files are present, and then the command
resource to verify if NTP is installed and running:
describe file('/etc/ntp.conf') do
it { should be_file }
end
describe file('/etc/ntp.leapseconds') do
it { should be_file }
end
describe command('pgrep ntp') do
its('exit_status') { should eq 0 }
end
Test parameters of symlinked file
If you need to test the parameters of the target file for a symlink, you can use the link_path
(recursive resolution) or shallow_link_path
(direct link) method for the file
resource.
For example, for the following symlink:
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 11 03-10 17:56 /dev/virtio-ports/com.redhat.rhevm.vdsm -> ../vport2p1
… you can write controls for both the link and the target.
describe file('/dev/virtio-ports/com.redhat.rhevm.vdsm') do
it { should be_symlink }
end
virito_port_vdsm = file('/dev/virtio-ports/com.redhat.rhevm.vdsm').link_path
describe file(virito_port_vdsm) do
it { should exist }
it { should be_character_device }
it { should be_owned_by 'ovirtagent' }
it { should be_grouped_into 'ovirtagent' }
end
Matchers
For a full list of available matchers, please visit our matchers page.
be_allowed
The be_allowed
matcher tests if the file contains a certain permission set, such as execute
or write
in Unix and full-control
or modify
in Windows.
it { should be_allowed('read') }
Just like with be_executable
and other permissions, one can check for the permission with respect to the specific user or group.
it { should be_allowed('full-control', by_user: 'MyComputerName\Administrator') }
OR
it { should be_allowed('write', by: 'root') }
be_block_device
The be_block_device
matcher tests if the file exists as a block device, such as /dev/disk0
or /dev/disk0s9
:
it { should be_block_device }
be_character_device
The be_character_device
matcher tests if the file exists as a character device (that corresponds to a block device), such as /dev/rdisk0
or /dev/rdisk0s9
:
it { should be_character_device }
be_directory
The be_directory
matcher tests if the file exists as a directory, such as /etc/passwd
, /etc/shadow
, or /var/log/httpd
:
it { should be_directory }
be_executable
The be_executable
matcher tests if the file exists as an executable:
it { should be_executable }
The be_executable
matcher may also test if the file is executable by a specific owner, group, or user. For example, a group:
it { should be_executable.by('group') }
an owner:
it { should be_executable.by('owner') }
any user other than the owner or members of the file’s group:
it { should be_executable.by('others') }
a user:
it { should be_executable.by_user('user') }
be_file
The be_file
matcher tests if the file exists as a file. This can be useful with configuration files like /etc/passwd
where there typically is not an associated file extension—passwd.txt
:
it { should be_file }
be_grouped_into
The be_grouped_into
matcher tests if the file exists as part of the named group:
it { should be_grouped_into 'group' }
be_linked_to
The be_linked_to
matcher tests if the file is linked to the named target:
it { should be_linked_to '/etc/target-file' }
be_owned_by
The be_owned_by
matcher tests if the file is owned by the named user, such as root
:
it { should be_owned_by 'root' }
be_pipe
The be_pipe
matcher tests if the file exists as first-in, first-out special file (.fifo
) that is typically used to define a named pipe, such as /var/log/nginx/access.log.fifo
:
it { should be_pipe }
be_readable
The be_readable
matcher tests if the file is readable:
it { should be_readable }
The be_readable
matcher may also test if the file is readable by a specific owner, group, or user. For example, a group:
it { should be_readable.by('group') }
an owner:
it { should be_readable.by('owner') }
any user other than the owner or members of the file’s group:
it { should be_readable.by('others') }
a user:
it { should be_readable.by_user('user') }
be_setgid
The be_setgid
matcher tests if the ‘setgid’ permission is set on the file or directory. On executable files, this causes the process to be started owned by the group that owns the file, rather than the primary group of the invocating user. This can result in escalation of privilege. On Linux, when setgid is set on directories, setgid causes newly created files and directories to be owned by the group that owns the setgid parent directory; additionally, newly created subdirectories will have the setgid bit set. To use this matcher:
it { should be_setgid }
be_socket
The be_socket
matcher tests if the file exists as socket (.sock
), such as /var/run/php-fpm.sock
:
it { should be_socket }
be_sticky
The be_sticky
matcher tests if the ‘sticky bit’ permission is set on the directory. On directories, this restricts file deletion to the owner of the file, even if the permission of the parent directory would normally permit deletion by others. This is commonly used on /tmp filesystems. To use this matcher:
it { should be_sticky }
be_setuid
The be_setuid
matcher tests if the ‘setuid’ permission is set on the file. On executable files, this causes the process to be started owned by the user that owns the file, rather than invocating user. This can result in escalation of privilege. To use this matcher:
it { should be_setuid }
be_symlink
The be_symlink
matcher tests if the file exists as a symbolic, or soft link that contains an absolute or relative path reference to another file:
it { should be_symlink }
be_version
The be_version
matcher tests the version of the file:
it { should be_version '1.2.3' }
be_writable
The be_writable
matcher tests if the file is writable:
it { should be_writable }
The be_writable
matcher may also test if the file is writable by a specific owner, group, or user. For example, a group:
it { should be_writable.by('group') }
an owner:
it { should be_writable.by('owner') }
any user other than the owner or members of the file’s group:
it { should be_writable.by('others') }
a user:
it { should be_writable.by_user('user') }
exist
The exist
matcher tests if the named file exists:
it { should exist }
have_mode
The have_mode
matcher tests if a file has a mode assigned to it:
it { should have_mode }
be_more_permissive_than(mode)
be_more_permissive_than(mode)
takes the maximum desired mode - in octal format
(‘0644’ or ‘0777’) - of your file as a String
and returns a Boolean
. It will
return true
if your file has a mode with greater permissions than specified.
describe file('/etc/passwd') do
it { should_not be_more_permissive_than('0644') }
it { should be_more_permissive_than('0000') }
end
Was this page helpful?