UCF STIG Viewer Logo
Changes are coming to https://stigviewer.com. Take our survey to help us understand your usage and how we can better serve you in the future.
Take Survey

The macOS system must be configured with system log files set to mode 640 or less permissive.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-81741 AOSX-13-002106 SV-96455r1_rule Medium
Description
System logs should only be readable by root or admin users. System logs frequently contain sensitive information that could be used by an attacker. Setting the correct permissions mitigates this risk.
STIG Date
Apple OS X 10.13 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2019-12-20

Details

Check Text ( C-81521r1_chk )
These commands check for log files that exist on the system and print out the log with corresponding permissions. Run them from inside "/var/log":

/usr/bin/sudo stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf | awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null
/usr/bin/sudo stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -e '^>' /etc/asl.conf /etc/asl/* | awk '{ print $2 }') 2> /dev/null

The correct permissions on log files should be "640" or less permissive for system logs.

Any file with more permissive settings is a finding.
Fix Text (F-88589r1_fix)
For any log file that returns an incorrect permission value, run the following command:

/usr/bin/sudo chmod 640 [log file]

[log file] is the full path to the log file in question. If the file is managed by "newsyslog", find the configuration line in the directory "/etc/newsyslog.d/" or the file "/etc/newsyslog.conf" and edit the mode column to be "640" or less permissive.

If the file is managed by "aslmanager", find the configuration line in the directory "/etc/asl/" or the file "/etc/asl.conf" and add or edit the mode option to be "mode=0640" or less permissive.