processes

Use the processes Chef InSpec audit resource to test properties for programs that are running on the system.

Availability

Installation

This resource is distributed along with Chef InSpec itself. You can use it automatically.

Version

This resource first became available in v1.0.0 of InSpec.

Syntax

A processes resource block declares the name of the process to be tested, and then declares one (or more) property/value pairs:

describe processes('process_name') do
  its('property_name') { should eq ['property_value'] }
end

where

• processes('process_name') specifies the name of a process to check. If this is a string, it will be converted to a Regexp. For more specificity, pass a Regexp directly. If left blank, all processes will be returned.
• property_name may be used to test user (its('users')) and state properties (its('states'))

Examples

The following examples show how to use this Chef InSpec audit resource.

Test if the list length for the mysqld process is 1

describe processes('mysqld') do
  its('list.length') { should eq 1 }
end

Test if the process is owned by a specific user

describe processes('init') do
  its('users') { should eq ['root'] }
end

describe processes('winlogon') do
  its('users') { should cmp "NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM" }
end

Test if a high-priority process is running

describe processes('linux_process') do
  its('states') { should eq ['R<'] }
end

describe processes('windows_process') do
  its('labels') { should cmp "High" }
end

Test if a process exists on the system

describe processes('some_process') do
  it { should exist }
end

Test for a process using a specific Regexp

If the process name is too common for a string to uniquely find it, you may use a regexp. Inclusion of whitespace characters may be needed.

describe processes(Regexp.new("/usr/local/bin/swap -d")) do
  its('list.length') { should eq 1 }
end

Notes for auditing Windows systems

Sometimes with system properties there isn’t a direct comparison between different operating systems. Most of the property_name‘s do align between the different OS’s.

There are however some exception’s, for example, within linux states offers multiple properties. Windows doesn’t have direct comparison that is a single property so instead states is mapped to the property of Responding, This is a boolean true/false flag to help determine if the process is hung.

Below is a mapping table to help you understand what property the unix field maps to the windows Get-Process Property

Matchers

For a full list of available matchers, please visit our matchers page.

property_name

The property_name matcher tests the named property for the specified value:

its('property_name') { should eq ['property_value'] }