Harden in a repeatable order
Every module closed one weakness. Together they form a checklist you can run on any box you are responsible for:
| Weakness | Find it | Fix it | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
['Unsafe SUID', 'find / -perm -4000 -type f', "chmod u-s the ones that don't need it"] | ['Over-broad sudo', 'sudo -l, read /etc/sudoers.d/*', 'remove shell/pager/editor rules; narrow the rest'] | ['Writable /etc/passwd', 'ls -l /etc/passwd', 'chmod 644, owned by root'] | ['Writable cron script', 'ls -l the files cron runs', 'remove group/other write; root-owned'] | ['PATH exposure', 'read the scripts; ls -ld PATH dirs', 'close writable dirs; use full paths'] | ['Leaked secrets', 'grep -ri pass /var/www /opt /etc', 'remove, rotate, move to a secrets store'] |
Run it top to bottom and the common local escalation paths are gone. Real hardening goes further — kernel and package updates, disabling unused services, logging and firewalling — but this list removes the mistakes attackers reach for first.