Provided by: aide_0.17.4-1ubuntu0.1_amd64 
NAME
aide.conf - The configuration file for Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment
SYNOPSIS
aide.conf is the configuration file for Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment. aide.conf contains the
runtime configuration aide uses to initialize or check the AIDE database.
FILE FORMAT
aide.conf is case-sensitive. Leading and trailing white spaces are ignored. AIDE uses the backslash
character (\) as escape character for ' ' (space), '@' and '\' (backslash) (e.g. '\ ' or '\@'). To
literally match a '\' in a file path with a regular expression you have to escape the backslash twice
(i.e. '\\\\').
There are three types of lines in aide.conf. First there are the configuration options which are used to
set configuration parameters and define groups. Second, there are (restricted) rules that are used to
indicate which files are added to the database. Third, macro lines define or undefine variables within
the config file. Lines beginning with # are ignored as comments.
CONFIG OPTIONS
These lines have the format parameter=value. See URLS for a list of valid urls.
database_in (type: URL, default: see --version output)
database (DEPRECATED, will be removed in a future release)
The url from which database is read. There can only be one of these lines. If there are multiple
database lines then the first is used.
database_out (type: URL, default: see --version output)
The url to which the new database is written to. There can only be one of these lines. If there
are multiple database_out lines then the first is used.
database_new (type: URL, default: <none>)
The url from which the other database for --compare is read.
database_attrs (type: attribute expression, default: H)
The attributes of the (uncompressed) database files which are to be added to the reports in report
level >= database_attributes . Only checksum attributes are supported. To disable set
database_attrs to 'E'.
database_add_metadata (type: bool, default: true)
Whether to add the AIDE version and the time of database generation as comments to the database
file or not. This option may be set to false by default in a future release.
log_level (type: log level, default: warning)
The log level to use. Log messages are written to stderr. If there are multiple log_level lines
then the first one is used. The --log-level or -L command line option overwrites this option.
The following log levels are available:
error: show unrecoverable issues that have to be handled by the user. Errors are fatal to
the AIDE process.
warning: additionally show recoverable issues that most likely lead to unexpected behaviour
and should be handled by the user
notice: additionally show recoverable issues that sometimes lead to unexpected behaviour
and might be handled by the user.
info: additionally show informational messages
rule: additionally show messages to help to debug the path rule matching
config: additionally show messages to help to debug config and rule parsing
debug: additionally show messages that are useful to debug the application (very verbose)
trace: detailed information about the flow of the application (e.g. in-loop logging) (even
more verbose)
verbose (type: number, range: 0 - 255, default: 5)
Removed in AIDE v0.17, use log_level and report_level options instead
gzip_dbout (type: bool, default: false)
Whether the output to the database is gzipped or not. This option is available only if zlib
support is compiled in.
root_prefix (type: path, default: <empty>)
The prefix to strip from each file name in the file system before applying the rules and writing
to database. AIDE removes a trailing slash from the prefix. If there are multiple root_prefix
lines then the first one is used. This option has no effect in compare mode.
acl_no_symlink_follow (type: bool, default: false)
Whether to check ACLs for symlinks or not. This option is available only if acl support is
compiled in.
warn_dead_symlinks (type: path, default: false)
Whether to warn about dead symlinks or not.
config_version (type: string, default: <empty>)
The value of config_version is printed in the report and also printed to the database. This is for
informational purposes only. It has no other functionality.
Group definitions
If the parameter is not one of the previous parameters then it is regarded as a group definition.
Value is then regarded as an attribute expression.
See DEFAULT GROUPS for an explanation of default predefined groups.
Group names are limited to alphanumeric characters (A-Za-z0-9).
REPORT OPTIONS
report_url (type: URL, default: stdout)
The URL that the output is written to.
Multiple instances of the report_url option are supported.
Examples:
report_url=file:/var/log/aide.log
Write report to /var/log/aide.log.
report_url=stdout
Write report to stdout.
report_url=syslog:<LOG_FACILITY>
Write report to syslog using LOG_FACILITY.
The following report options are available (to take effect they have to be set before report_url):
report_level (type: report level, default: changed_attributes)
The report level to use. The available report levels are as follows:
minimal: print single line whether AIDE found differences to the database
summary: additionally print number of added, removed and changed files
database_attributes: additionally print database checksums
list_entries: additionally print lists of added, removed and changed entries
changed_attributes: additionally print details about changed entries
added_removed_attributes: additionally print details about added and removed attributes
added_removed_entries: additionally print details about added and removed entries
report_base16 (type: bool, default: false)
Base16 encode the checksums in the report. The default is to report checksums in base64 encoding.
report_detailed_init (type: bool, default: false)
Report added files (report level >= list_entries) and their details (report level >=
added_removed_entries) in initialization mode.
report_quiet (type: bool, default: false)
Suppress report output if no differences to the database have been found.
report_append (type: bool, default: false)
Append to the report URL.
report_grouped (type: bool, default: true)
grouped (DEPRECATED, will be removed in a future release)
Group the files in the report by added, removed and changed files.
report_summarize_changes (type: bool, default: true)
summarize_changes (DEPRECATED, will be removed in a future release)
Summarize changes in the added, removed and changed files sections of the report.
The general format is like the string YlZbpugamcinHAXSEC, where Y is replaced by the file-type (f
for a regular file, d for a directory, l for a symbolic link, c for a character device, b for a
block device, p for a FIFO, s for a unix socket, D for a Solaris door, P for a Solaris event port,
! if file type has changed and ? otherwise).
The Z is replaced as follows: A = means that the size has not changed, a < reports a shrinked size
and a > reports a grown size.
The other letters in the string are the actual letters that will be output if the associated
attribute for the item has been changed or a "." for no change, a "+" if the attribute has been
added, a "-" if it has been removed, a ":" if the attribute is ignored (but not forced) or a " "
if the attribute has not been checked. The exceptions to this are: (1) a newly created file
replaces each letter with a "+", and (2) a removed file replaces each letter with a "-".
The attribute that is associated with each letter is as follows:
o A l means that the link name has changed.
o A b means that the block count has changed.
o A p means that the permissions have changed.
o An u means that the uid has changed.
o A g means that the gid has changed.
o An a means that the access time has changed.
o A m means that the modification time has changed.
o A c means that the change time has changed.
o An i means that the inode has changed.
o A n means that the link count has changed.
o A H means that one or more message digests have changed.
The following letters are only available when explicitly enabled using configure:
o A A means that the access control list has changed.
o A X means that the extended attributes have changed.
o A S means that the SELinux attributes have changed.
o A E means that the file attributes on a second extended file system have changed.
o A C means that the file capabilities have changed.
report_ignore_added_attrs (type: attribute expression, default: empty)
Attributes whose addition is to be ignored in the report.
report_ignore_removed_attrs (type: attribute expression, default: empty)
Attributes whose removal is to be ignored in the report.
report_ignore_changed_attrs (type: attribute expression, default: empty)
ignore_list (removed in AIDE v0.17)
Attributes whose change is to be ignored in the report.
report_force_attrs (type: attribute expression, default: empty)
report_attributes (removed in AIDE v0.17)
Attributes which are always printed in the report for changed files. If an attribute is both
ignored and forced the attribute is not considered for file change but printed in the final report
as long as the file has been otherwise changed.
report_ignore_e2fsattrs (type: string, default: 0)
List (no delimiter) of ext2 file attributes which are to be ignored in the report. See chattr(1)
for the available attributes. Use 0 (zero) to not ignore any attribute. Ignored attributes are
represented by a ':' in the output.
Example:
Ignore changes of the ext2 file attributes compression error (E), huge file (h), indexed
directory (I):
report_ignore_e2fsattrs=EhI
RULES
AIDE supports three types of rules:
Regular rule:
<regex> <attribute expression>
Files and directories matching the regular expression are added to the database.
Negative rule:
!<regex>
Files and directories matching the regular expression are ignored and not added to the database. The
children of matching directories are also ignored.
Equals rule:
=<regex> <attribute expression>
Files and directories matching the regular expression are added to the database. The children of
directories are only added if the regular expression ends with a "/". The children of sub-directories
are not added at all.
Every regular expression has to start with a "/". An implicit ^ is added in front of each regular
expression. In other words the regular expressions are matched at the first position against the complete
filename (i.e. including the path). Special characters in your filenames can be escaped using two-digit
URL encoding (for example, %20 to represent a space).
See EXAMPLES and doc/aide.conf for examples.
More in-depth discussion of the selection algorithm can be found in the AIDE manual.
RESTRICTED RULES
Restricted rules are like normal rules but can be restricted to file types. The following file types are
supported:
f: restrict rule to regular files
d: restrict rule to directories
l: restrict rule to symbolic links
c: restrict rule to character devices
b: restrict rule to block devices
p: restrict rule to FIFO files
s: restrict rule to UNIX sockets
D: restrict rule to Solaris doors
P: restrict rule to Solaris event ports
The file types are separated by comma. The syntax of restricted rules is as follows:
Restricted regular rule:
<regex> <file types> <attribute expression>
Restricted negative rule:
!<regex> <file types>
Restricted equals rule:
=<regex> <file types> <attribute expression>
Examples
Only add directories and files to the database:
/ d,f R
Add all but directory entries to the database:
!/run d
/run R
Use specific rule for directories:
/run d R-m-c-i
/run R
MACRO LINES
@@define VAR val
Define variable VAR to value val.
@@undef VAR
Undefine variable VAR.
@@ifdef VAR, @@ifndef VAR
@@ifdef begins an if statement. It must be terminated with an @@endif statement. The lines between
@@ifdef and @@endif are used if variable VAR is defined. If there is an @@else statement then the
part between @@ifdef and @@else is used is VAR is defined otherwise the part between @@else and
@@endif is used. @@ifndef reverses the logic of @@ifdef statement but otherwise works similarly.
@@ifhost hostname, @@ifnhost hostname
@@ifhost works like @@ifdef only difference is that it checks whether hostname equals the name of
the host that AIDE is running on. hostname is the name of the host without the domainname
(hostname, not hostname.example.com).
@@{VAR}
@@{VAR} is replaced with the value of the variable VAR. If variable VAR is not defined an empty
string is used.
Variables are supported in strings and in regular expressions of selection lines.
Pre-defined marco variables:
@@{HOSTNAME}: hostname of the current system
@@else Begins the else part of an if statement.
@@endif
Ends an if statement.
@@include FILE
Include FILE.
The content of the file is used as if it were inserted in this part of the config file.
The maximum depth of nested includes is 16.
@@include DIRECTORY REGEX
Include all (regular) files found in DIRECTORY matching regular expression REGEX (sub-directories
are ignored). The file are included in lexical sort order.
The content of the files is used as if it were inserted in this part of the config file.
@@x_include FILE
@@x_include DIRECTORY REGEX
@x_include is identical to @@include, except that if a config file is executable is is run and the
output is used as config.
If the executable file exits with status greater than zero or writes to stderr aide stops with an
error.
For security reasons DIRECTORY and each executable config file must be owned by the current user
and must not be group- or world-writable.
@@x_include_setenv VAR VALUE
Adds the variable VAR with the value VALUE to the environment used for config file execution.
Environment variable names are limited to alphanumeric characters (A-Za-z0-9) and the underscore
'_' and must not begin with a digit.
TYPES
bool
Valid values are yes, true, no or false.
attribute expression
An attribute expression is of the following form:
<group>
| <expr> + <group>
| <expr> - <group>
URLS
Urls can be one of the following. Input urls cannot be used as outputs and vice versa.
stdout
stderr Output is sent to stdout, stderr respectively.
stdin Input is read from stdin.
file:/path
Input is read from path or output is written to path.
fd:number
Input is read from filedescriptor number or output is written to number.
syslog:LOG_FACILITY
Output is written to syslog using LOG_FACILITY.
DEFAULT GROUPS
File attribute groups
ftype: file type
p: permissions
i: inode
l: link name
n: number of links
u: user
g: group
s: size
b: block count
m: mtime
a: atime
c: ctime
acl: access control list (requires libacl)
selinux: selinux attributes (requires libselinux)
xattrs: extended attributes (requires libattr)
e2fsattrs: file attributes on a second extended file system (requires libext2fs)
caps: file capabilities (requires libcap2)
Use 'aide --version' to show which compiled in groups are available.
Special groups
S: check for growing size
I: ignore changed filename
Note: when c is also set in the same rule a ctime change is ignored when the name of a file is
changed
ANF: allow new files
When 'ANF' is used, new files are added to the new database, but are ignored in the report.
ARF: allow removed files
When 'ARF' is used, files missing on disk are omitted from the new database, but are ignored in
the report.
Hashsums groups
md5: MD5 checksum
sha1: SHA-1 checksum
sha256: SHA-256 checksum
sha512: SHA-512 checksum
rmd160: RIPEMD-160 checksum
tiger: tiger checksum
haval: haval256 checksum (libmhash only)
crc32: crc32 checksum
crc32b: crc32 checksum (libmhash only)
gost: GOST R 34.11-94 checksum
whirlpool: whirlpool checksum
stribog256: GOST R 34.11-2012, 256 bit checksum (libgcrypt only)
stribog512: GOST R 34.11-2012, 512 bit checksum (libgcrypt only)
Use 'aide --version' to show which compiled hashsums are available.
Compound groups
R: p+ftype+i+l+n+u+g+s+m+c+md5+X
L: p+ftype+i+l+n+u+g+X
>: Growing file p+ftype+l+u+g+i+n+S+X
H: all compiled in hashsums
X: acl+selinux+xattrs+e2fsattrs+caps (if groups are compiled in)
E: Empty group
Please run 'aide --version' to list the default compound groups.
EXAMPLES
/ R
This adds all files on your machine to the database. This one line is a fully qualified configuration
file.
!/dev$
This ignores the /dev directory structure.
=/foo R
Only /foo and /foobar are taken into the database. None of their children are added.
=/foo/ R
Only /foo and its children (e.g. /foo/file and /foo/directory) are taken into the database. The children
of sub-directories (e.g. /foo/directory/bar) are not added.
All=ftype+p+l+u+g+s+m+c+a+i+b+n+H+X
This line defines group All. It has all attributes, all compiled in hashsums (H) and all compiled in
extra file attributes (X). See '--version' output for the compiled in hashsums and extra groups.
HINTS
In the following, the first is not allowed in AIDE. Use the latter instead.
/foo epug
/foo e+p+u+g
SEE ALSO
aide(1)
DISCLAIMER
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. No animals were harmed while making this
webpage or this piece of software.
aide v0.17.4 2022-01-19 AIDE.CONF(5)