Skip to content

Custom Tests and Plugins

Jump to bottom
Michael Boelen edited this page Feb 22, 2016 · 2 revisions

Creating your own tests and plugins

Extending Lynis with your own custom tests is easy.

Tests

To start developing your own custom tests, look in the include directory. There is a file named tests_custom.template. Rename this file to tests_custom.

Next is adding your own tests in the file. They all should be named as CUST-xxxx, where xxxx is a unique number of your choice. By using the CUST category, Lynis knows it is a custom test.

After adding your test(s) to the tests_custom file, check the file permissions and set them equally as the other files in the include directory. Run Lynis and check if your tests were performed (near the end of the test cycle).

Plugins

Another option is creating your own plugin. This is especially useful if you want to do data collection, for later analysis. This data can be stored in the report and then analyzed via Lynis, or an external tool of your choice.

  1. To start, copy the plugin template or an existing plugin.
  2. Define all plugins with a unique identifier, starting with CUST, followed by a unique number. This way Lynis knows it is a custom plugin.
  3. Create the related code of your plugin
  4. Enable the plugin in your profile
  5. Set file permissions (as strict as possible)
  6. Run Lynis

If your plugin is not started, then usually file permissions are not correct.

Clone this wiki locally