\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{article} % Packages \usepackage{fancyhdr} % For header and footer \usepackage{multicol} % Allows multicols in tables \usepackage{tabularx} % Intelligent column widths \usepackage{tabulary} % Used in header and footer \usepackage{hhline} % Border under tables \usepackage{graphicx} % For images \usepackage{xcolor} % For hex colours %\usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc} % For unicode character support \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} % Without this we get weird character replacements \usepackage{colortbl} % For coloured tables \usepackage{setspace} % For line height \usepackage{lastpage} % Needed for total page number \usepackage{seqsplit} % Splits long words. %\usepackage{opensans} % Can't make this work so far. Shame. Would be lovely. \usepackage[normalem]{ulem} % For underlining links % Most of the following are not required for the majority % of cheat sheets but are needed for some symbol support. \usepackage{amsmath} % Symbols \usepackage{MnSymbol} % Symbols \usepackage{wasysym} % Symbols %\usepackage[english,german,french,spanish,italian]{babel} % Languages % Document Info \author{iserversupport} \pdfinfo{ /Title (linux-server-hardening-checklist.pdf) /Creator (Cheatography) /Author (iserversupport) /Subject (Linux Server Hardening Checklist Cheat Sheet) } % Lengths and widths \addtolength{\textwidth}{6cm} \addtolength{\textheight}{-1cm} \addtolength{\hoffset}{-3cm} \addtolength{\voffset}{-2cm} \setlength{\tabcolsep}{0.2cm} % Space between columns \setlength{\headsep}{-12pt} % Reduce space between header and content \setlength{\headheight}{85pt} % If less, LaTeX automatically increases it \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove footer line \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove header line \renewcommand{\seqinsert}{\ifmmode\allowbreak\else\-\fi} % Hyphens in seqsplit % This two commands together give roughly % the right line height in the tables \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.3} \onehalfspacing % Commands \newcommand{\SetRowColor}[1]{\noalign{\gdef\RowColorName{#1}}\rowcolor{\RowColorName}} % Shortcut for row colour \newcommand{\mymulticolumn}[3]{\multicolumn{#1}{>{\columncolor{\RowColorName}}#2}{#3}} % For coloured multi-cols \newcolumntype{x}[1]{>{\raggedright}p{#1}} % New column types for ragged-right paragraph columns \newcommand{\tn}{\tabularnewline} % Required as custom column type in use % Font and Colours \definecolor{HeadBackground}{HTML}{333333} \definecolor{FootBackground}{HTML}{666666} \definecolor{TextColor}{HTML}{333333} \definecolor{DarkBackground}{HTML}{A3A3A3} \definecolor{LightBackground}{HTML}{F3F3F3} \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} \color{TextColor} % Header and Footer \pagestyle{fancy} \fancyhead{} % Set header to blank \fancyfoot{} % Set footer to blank \fancyhead[L]{ \noindent \begin{multicols}{3} \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{C} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \vspace{-7pt} {\parbox{\dimexpr\textwidth-2\fboxsep\relax}{\noindent \hspace*{-6pt}\includegraphics[width=5.8cm]{/web/www.cheatography.com/public/images/cheatography_logo.pdf}} } \end{tabulary} \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{11cm}{L} \vspace{-2pt}\large{\bf{\textcolor{DarkBackground}{\textrm{Linux Server Hardening Checklist Cheat Sheet}}}} \\ \normalsize{by \textcolor{DarkBackground}{iserversupport} via \textcolor{DarkBackground}{\uline{cheatography.com/219150/cs/48496/}}} \end{tabulary} \end{multicols}} \fancyfoot[L]{ \footnotesize \noindent \begin{multicols}{3} \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{LL} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheatographer}} \\ \vspace{-2pt}iserversupport \\ \uline{cheatography.com/iserversupport} \\ \end{tabulary} \vfill \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheat Sheet}} \\ \vspace{-2pt}Published 8th October, 2026.\\ Updated 8th October, 2026.\\ Page {\thepage} of \pageref{LastPage}. \end{tabulary} \vfill \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Sponsor}} \\ \SetRowColor{white} \vspace{-5pt} %\includegraphics[width=48px,height=48px]{dave.jpeg} Measure your website readability!\\ www.readability-score.com \end{tabulary} \end{multicols}} \begin{document} \raggedright \raggedcolumns % Set font size to small. Switch to any value % from this page to resize cheat sheet text: % www.emerson.emory.edu/services/latex/latex_169.html \footnotesize % Small font. \begin{multicols*}{3} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.4885 cm} x{2.4885 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Identity and Access}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Create named administrator accounts; avoid routine direct root login. Use sudo with least privilege. Use SSH keys where practical. Disable password authentication only after confirming key-based access works. & Set PermitRootLogin to prohibit-password or no. Review authorized\_keys, sudoers entries, inactive accounts, and privileged groups regularly. Use MFA or an access gateway for administrative access where available. \tn % Row Count 11 (+ 11) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.4885 cm} x{2.4885 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Logging, Backups, and Verification}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Ensure time synchronization is working and logs are retained centrally where possible. Configure backups for required data and system configuration. Periodically test restoration. Protect secrets and private keys with restrictive permissions. Never commit credentials to repositories. & Record baseline configuration. Periodically review authentication logs, updates, firewall rules, and exposed services. ss -tulpn Review listening sockets. systemctl -{}-failed Identify failed systemd units. journalctl -p warning..alert -b Review current-boot warnings and higher-severity messages. \tn % Row Count 15 (+ 15) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.4885 cm} x{2.4885 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Network and Host Protection}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Default-deny inbound traffic where feasible. Allow only required ports from appropriate source ranges. Restrict SSH exposure with firewall rules, VPN, or an access gateway when possible. & Use SELinux or AppArmor in enforcing mode where supported. Investigate security-control denials rather than disabling controls by default. Protect cloud metadata services and management interfaces according to the platform's guidance. \tn % Row Count 12 (+ 12) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.4885 cm} x{2.4885 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Patch and Service Management}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Apply security updates through your normal change process. Confirm reboot requirements for kernel and core-library updates. Remove or disable packages, daemons, and listening services that are not required. & Check enabled services with: systemctl -{}-type=service -{}-state=running Check listening sockets with: ss -tulpn Keep a supported OS release and a documented rollback/recovery plan. \tn % Row Count 11 (+ 11) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} % That's all folks \end{multicols*} \end{document}