Managing users

Use TanOS to manage user accounts on the Tanium Appliance. Users with the tanadmin role can manage two types of user accounts:

Change the password for the current TanOS user

Use these steps to reset the password for the TanOS user who is currently signed in. On TanOS 1.7.3 or later, the password reset prompt appears if the user password expires. To reset the password for another TanOS user, see Manage system users.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console.
  2. Enter P and follow the prompts to change the password. ClosedView screen

After the password changes, you are signed out.

Manage SSH keys

The installation process generates a public/private SSH key pair for the tanadmin user. Use the User Administration menus to perform the following functions:

  • Regenerate the key pair.
  • Generate keys for the other TanOS special users.
  • Add authorized keys to support inbound user connections.
  • View the public key so you can copy and paste it into other appliance configurations.

You can use the ssh-copy-id command in OpenSSH to add an SSH public key from your local host to any TanOS user with the tanadmin role on the Tanium Appliance. For example:

ssh-copy-id -i public_key_file user@appliance

Before you begin

  • You must have an SSH client to sign in to the TanOS console and an SFTP client such as WinSCP to copy files to and from the appliance.
  • You must have an SSH key generator such as ssh-keygen to generate keys for the user.

Generate keys

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user account that you want to manage. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter P to manage the SSH key pair. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter G to generate a public/private key pair. ClosedView screen

Add authorized keys

  1. Use an SSH key generator such as ssh-keygen to generate a public/private key pair. Note:
    • Specify an RSA key with 2048 bits (such as ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048).
    • Specify a passphrase that is easy to remember.
    • Save the private key to a location that you can access when you set up your SFTP client.
  2. Copy all of the text in the public key file to the clipboard. If you use ssh-keygen, copy the contents of the .pub file that you created.

    In an SSH key exchange, the keys must match exactly.

  3. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  4. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  5. Enter the line number for the tancopy user to go to the user administration menu for this user. ClosedView screen

  6. Enter A (Authorized Keys).

  7. Enter A and follow the prompts to add the contents of the public key generated in Step 1. ClosedView screen

View public keys

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number for the tancopy user to go to the user administration menu for this user. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter P to go to the Key Pair menu to view the public key. ClosedView screen

Configure TanOS system users

You can create TanOS users that have tanadmin or tanuser permissions. The system users with the tanadmin role have access to all menus. System users with the tanuser role have access to status menus.

Create more than one privileged user with the tanadmin role in case you forget the password for the built-in tanadmin user.

You can optionally use your enterprise LDAP server to manage TanOS authentication. For more information, see Configure LDAP authentication for TanOS system users.

Add a system user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter A and follow the prompts to add a system user. ClosedView screen

Disable password access

You can disable password access for any user except the tanadmin special user. When you disable password access for a user, the user can only sign in through SSH using the configured SSH private key.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to manage. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter N and follow the prompts to disable password access for the user. ClosedView screen

Enable password access

Password access is enabled by default. If you disable password access for a user and want to re-enable password access, perform the following steps.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to manage. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter C to enable password access or reset the password for the selected user.
    • If you enable the password for the current user, enter a password.
    • If you enable password access for another user, TanOS generates a random password. ClosedView screen

Edit known hosts

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to manage. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter F to edit the known hosts file. You can delete existing fingerprints from the file, or you can scan a remote host to automatically add fingerprints.
    • To delete a fingerprint, enter a line number and confirm the deletion.
    • To scan a remote host and automatically add all discovered fingerprints, enter S and follow the prompts. ClosedView screen

Manage system users

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to manage. ClosedView screen
  4. Use the menu to delete the user, reset or enable the password, manage SSH keys, disable password access, manage multi-factor authentication, enable/disable the account, or delete entries from the known_hosts file for the user.

View history of sign in attempts

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-I (User Administration > Recent Login Information).

  3. Use options A, B, and C to view the history of sign in attempts.

Configure individual multi-factor authentication

In addition to global multi-factor authentication, you can configure multi-factor authentication for individual users or exempt individual users from global multi-factor authentication requirements.

To manage global multi-factor authentication settings, see Configure global multi-factor authentication.

Exempt user from global multi-factor requirements

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to edit. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter M to manage the multi-factor authentication settings for the user. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter E and follow the prompts to exempt the user from all multi-factor authentication requirements. ClosedView screen

To remove the exemption for the user, perform the steps in Reset user multi-factor settings.

Configure Google Authenticator for a user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to edit. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter M to manage the multi-factor authentication settings for the user. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter G and follow the prompts to configure Google Authenticator for the user.

View user multi-factor settings

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to edit. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter M to manage the multi-factor authentication settings for the user. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter V to show the multi-factor authentication settings for the user.

Reset user multi-factor settings

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-U (User Administration > TanOS User Management).

  3. Enter the line number of the user that you want to edit. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter M to manage the multi-factor authentication settings for the user. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter X and follow the prompts to reset the multi-factor authentication settings for the user.

Configure global multi-factor authentication

You can configure the appliance to use multi-factor authentication to validate TanOS user accounts on sign-ins through SSH connections. You can configure multi-factor authentication as a global setting or for individual users, and you can exempt selected accounts from global multi-factor authentication settings.

Tanium Appliances use Google Authenticator for multi-factor authentication.

Enable global key authentication

Perform the following steps to require all users who sign-in through SSH to use an authorized key configured in their profiles.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M-K (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings > key authentication).

  3. Enter E and follow the prompts to enable global key authentication.

Disable global key authentication

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M-K (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings > key authentication).

  3. Enter D and follow the prompts to disable global key authentication.

Enable global password authentication

Perform the following steps to require all users who sign-in through SSH to input a password.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M-P (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings > password authentication).

  3. Enter E and follow the prompts to enable global key authentication.

Disable global password authentication

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M-P (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings > key authentication).

  3. Enter D and follow the prompts to disable global key authentication.

Enable global multi-factor authentication

If you want to exempt specific accounts from requiring multi-factor authentication, you should exempt the accounts before you enable global multi-factor authentication to minimize disruption. To exempt a user from multi-factor authentication, see Exempt user from global multi-factor requirements.

At least one admin user must be exempt or have an SSH key pair configured before you enable global multi-factor authentication. See Manage SSH keys.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings).

  3. Enter M to require multi-factor authentication. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter E and follow the prompts to enable global multi-factor authentication.

Disable global multi-factor authentication

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-M (User Administration > Multi-Factor Global Settings).

  3. Enter M to require multi-factor authentication. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter D and follow the prompts to disable global multi-factor authentication.

Configure LDAP authentication for TanOS system users

You can optionally configure an LDAP connection to use Active Directory or another directory service to manage TanOS system users.

  • You cannot delete the tanadmin and tancopy special users. These user accounts are always administered locally within TanOS. Even if an LDAP query returns either of these user names, the locally administered user and associated password takes precedence.

  • This LDAP configuration applies only for authentication in the TanOS console. For information about using LDAP for Tanium users, see Tanium Console User Guide: Integrating with LDAP servers.

Manage the authentication certificate for the LDAP server

TanOS requires TLS encryption using StartTLS for communication with the LDAP server. You must import the LDAP server root certificate authority (CA) certificate. The certificate must be in PEM format. On the appliance, you have the option to paste the contents of the LDAP server root CA certificate or import the file.

If you import a new certificate after you have already configured LDAP server connection settings, you must re-enter the bind credentials for the connection. For more information, see Configure specific LDAP connection settings.

Option 1: Paste the LDAP server root CA certificate Contents

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A-M (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Manage AD/LDAP Certificate).

  3. Enter P and follow the prompts to paste the contents of the LDAP server root CA certificate file. ClosedView screen

Option 2: Import the LDAP server root CA certificate file

  1. Use SFTP to copy the certificate file to the /incoming directory of the Tanium Server appliance.

  2. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  3. Enter C-A-M (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Manage AD/LDAP Certificate).

  4. Enter I and follow the prompts to import the LDAP server root CA certificate file.

Manage the imported LDAP server root CA certificate

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  3. Enter M to go to the Manage AD/LDAP Certificate menu and view the certificate information. Use the menu options to manage the certificate.

Configure the LDAP server connection settings

Import the LDAP server root CA certificate before you configure the LDAP server connection settings. Though you can complete the configuration without the certificate, TanOS cannot connect to the LDAP server during the process to validate the users or groups that you enter for tandamin and tanuser role mappings.

Complete the walk-through configuration

The walk-through configuration provides a series of prompts that help you complete the necessary settings for an LDAP server connection. The prompts provide contextual information for each setting. For a reference of the settings that you configure during the walk-through configuration, see Configure specific LDAP connection settings.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  3. Enter W to go to the Walkthrough Configuration screen. Follow the prompts to configure the connection to the LDAP server.

    After you complete the configuration, the full AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication menu becomes available. ClosedView screen

Configure specific LDAP connection settings

Use the Configure AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication menu to change specific LDAP connection settings.

For the initial configuration, use the walk-through configuration. Use this menu to configure specific settings that you need to change after the initial configuration is complete. For more information, see Complete the walk-through configuration.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A-C (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Configure AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  3. Use the menu options to modify the following settings as necessary:

    Setting Menu Key Description
    Enable E Specifies whether LDAP authentication is enabled for authenticating TanOS system users. For more information, see Enable or disable LDAP authentication.
    Domain D The domain by which the system and logs refer to the LDAP configuration. This setting does not affect the connection to the LDAP server
    Host H

    The host name of the LDAP server

    • TanOS requires TLS encryption for communication with the LDAP server. The host name configured for this setting must match the common name or subject alternative name in the TLS certificate presented by the LDAP server. An IP address is not usually not valid.

    • If you change the host name in an existing configuration, you must re-enter the bind credentials for the connection. (Enter C from the Configure menu.)
    Port P

    The port on which to connect to the LDAP server

    This is typically port 389.

    If you change the port number in an existing configuration, you must re-enter the bind credentials for the connection. (Enter C from the Configure menu.)
    Bind Credentials C

    The user name used to sign in to and query the LDAP server in a format accepted by the server, and the password for the user name

    The following user name formats are commonly used, depending on the configuration of your Active Directory or LDAP server:

    • User principal name (UPN): user@domain.name
    Base Search DN B

    The base DN from which TanOS queries the directory
    Schema S The schema used by the LDAP server. TanOS supports Active Directory, RFC2307, RFC2307bis, Red Hat Identity Manager (IdM), and FreeIPA.
    Referrals Q

    Specifies whether TanOS allows the LDAP server to refer the query to other connected LDAP servers when you have multiple LDAP servers in your organization

    • Referrals can significantly increase the time required to process a query.

    • TanOS does not always allow a user returned from a referral to sign on, depending on the configuration of the directory.
    SSH Public Key Attribute K

    The LDAP attribute that contains the SSH public key for each user

    The user that is specified for the Bind Credentials setting must have read access to this attribute.

    This attribute is commonly sshPublicKey.
    Users Filter U

    The LDAP search filter to use to limit the users that the LDAP server returns for the query. Leave this setting blank to return all users under the base search DN.

    Most LDAP servers do not support using wildcard characters or nested groups with the MemberOf attribute in a filter.
    Groups Filter G The LDAP search filter to use to limit the groups that the LDAP server returns for the query. Leave this setting blank to return all groups under the base search DN.
    TanOS Roles Mapping M

    The LDAP users or groups that map to the tanadmin and tanuser roles. If TanOS can successfully connect to the LDAP server when you configure this setting, it displays a list of valid users or groups and then validates the users or groups that you enter with the server.

    Enter A to go to the tanadmin Mappings menu and manage the users or groups that map to the tanadmin role. Users in these groups have access to all TanOS menus. ClosedView screen

    Enter U to go to the tanuser Mappings menu and manage the users or groups that map to the tanuser role. Users in these groups have access to TanOS status menus. ClosedView screen

    • Avoid assigning users in the directory to both a group that is mapped to the tanadmin role and a group that is mapped to the tanuser role. If a user is assigned both roles, the user can perform most administrative tasks in TanOS, but permissions might be unpredictable. You can review users with conflicting mappings in the Detailed Status report. For more information, see View the LDAP connection status and query results.

    • You cannot delete the tanadmin and tancopy special users. These user accounts are always administered locally within TanOS. Even if an LDAP query returns either of these user names, the locally administered user and associated password takes precedence.

  4. Enter V to validate the updated configuration.

    This option validates that the required settings are configured, but it does not verify the connection to the LDAP server. If TanOS successfully connects to the server, Configuration: Valid (Online) appears in the AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication menu after you apply the configuration. The Detailed Status report displays additional information and any errors that occur during the query. For more information, see View the LDAP connection status and query results.

  5. Enter A to apply the updated configuration.

View the LDAP connection status and query results

The Detailed Status report displays the following information:

  • Users and groups returned from the LDAP query

  • Users that map to the tanadmin and tanuser roles

  • Any connection errors or errors that the query returns

This report is available only after you have configured a connection to an LDAP server.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  3. Enter S to display the Detailed Status report. ClosedView screen

Verify that the LDAP query returns a specific user

This menu is available only after you have configured a connection to an LDAP server.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A-V (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Verify User/Group).

  3. Enter U to verify a user.

  4. Follow the prompts to enter a user name to verify.

Verify that the LDAP query returns a specific group

This menu is available only after you have configured a connection to an LDAP server.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A-V (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Verify User/Group).

  3. Enter G to verify a group.

  4. Follow the prompts to enter a group name to verify.

Export the LDAP configuration for use on another TanOS appliance

This menu is available only after you have configured a connection to an LDAP server.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  3. Enter E to export the LDAP configuration.

    The exported configuration is stored as ldapauth.conf in the /outgoing directory.

Import an LDAP configuration that was exported from another TanOS appliance

  1. Use SFTP to copy the ldapauth.conf file to the /incoming directory of the TanOS appliance where you want to import the configuration.

  2. Sign in to the TanOS console on the TanOS appliance where you want to import the configuration as a user with the tanadmin role.

  3. Enter C-A (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication).

  4. Enter I to import the LDAP configuration.

Enable or disable LDAP authentication

After you complete the configuration for an LDAP connection and TanOS successfully connects to the Active Directory or LDAP server, LDAP authentication is automatically enabled for the appliance. You can disable or re-enable LDAP authentication with the configuration still in place.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-A-C-E (User Administration > AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Configure AD/LDAP TanOS Authentication > Enable/Disable).

  3. Enter D to disable LDAP authentication, or enter E to enable LDAP authentication.

    If you disable LDAP authentication, TanOS might close sessions for any users who are signed on with user names authenticated with LDAP.

Configure the local authentication service

You can use the local authentication service to set up Tanium Console user accounts for demo or testing purposes.

For production use, configure the Tanium Console to use an external LDAP server to authenticate Tanium users. For information about using LDAP for Tanium users, see Tanium Console User Guide: Integrating with LDAP servers.

  • If you use the local authentication service together with LDAP integration, you must use the following user filter in the LDAP configuration:

    (&(objectClass=person)(uidNumber>=20000))

  • The Local Authentication Service menu is available only after you install the Tanium Server on the appliance.

Add a local user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-L (User Administration > Local Tanium User Management).

  3. Enter 1 and follow the prompts to add a local user. ClosedView screen
  4. Sign in to the Tanium Console as an administrator, create a user with the same user name, and assign roles to it. For details, see Tanium Console User Guide: Managing users.

Set a user password

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-L-2 (User Administration > Local Tanium User Management > Manage Local Users).

  3. Enter the user line number to go to the User menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 2 and follow the prompts to set the user password. ClosedView screen

Delete a user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-L-2 (User Administration > Local Tanium User Management > Manage Local Users).

  3. Enter the user line number to go to the User menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 1 and follow the prompts to delete the user.

Disable the local authentication service

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-L (User Administration > Local Tanium User Management).

  3. Enter A and follow the prompts to enable or disable the local authentication service. ClosedView screen

Although the Tanium Console contains a soap_enable_local_auth platform setting to disable local authentication, that setting is not supported for Tanium Appliance installations.

Modify the local authentication service security policy

The local authentication service security policy has the following default settings.

Setting Factory Default Description
Password Minimum Age (days) 1 The minimum number of days between password changes. A value of 0 indicates the password can be changed at any time. Valid range is 0-20.
Password Maximum Age (days) 90 The age at which a current password expires. A value of 0 indicates the password does not expire. Valid range is 0-360.
Password Minimum Length 10 The minimum number of characters allowed in a password. Valid range is 0-30.
Password History 5 The number of most recent passwords that a user cannot reuse. A setting of 0 allows reuse of any previous passwords. Valid range is 0-10.
Password Lockout True True locks out a user with an expired password. False forces the user to change the password.
Password Maximum Failure 5 The number of failed attempts before a user is locked out. A setting of 0 allows unlimited failed attempts. Valid range is 0-10.

To modify the default settings:

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.

  2. Enter C-L-B (User Administration > Local Tanium User Management > Security Policy Local Authentication Service).

  3. Follow the prompts to modify the settings.