The macOS system must configure system log files to mode 640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259557	APPL-14-004040	SV-259557r958564_rule		Medium

Description
The system logs must be configured to be writable by root and readable only by the root user and group wheel. To achieve this, system log files must be configured to mode 640 permissive or less; thereby preventing normal users from reading, modifying, or deleting audit logs. System logs frequently contain sensitive information that could be used by an attacker. Setting the correct permissions mitigates this risk. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083,SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084

Description

The system logs must be configured to be writable by root and readable only by the root user and group wheel. To achieve this, system log files must be configured to mode 640 permissive or less; thereby preventing normal users from reading, modifying, or deleting audit logs. System logs frequently contain sensitive information that could be used by an attacker. Setting the correct permissions mitigates this risk. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083,SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-05-30

Details

Check Text ( C-63296r941291_chk )
Verify the macOS system is configured with system log files set to mode 640 or less permissive with the following command: /usr/bin/stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf \| /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null \| /usr/bin/awk '!/640/{print $1}' \| /usr/bin/wc -l \| /usr/bin/tr -d ' ' If the result is not "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-63204r941292_fix)
Configure the macOS system with system log files set to mode 640 or less permissive with the following command: /bin/chmod 640 $(/usr/bin/stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf \| /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null \| /usr/bin/awk '!/640/{print $1}' \| awk -F":" '!/640/{print $2}')