AIX log files must be owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-91453	AIX7-00-002070	SV-101551r1_rule		Medium

Description
Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify AIX or platform. Additionally, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives. The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements.

Description

Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify AIX or platform. Additionally, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives. The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements.

STIG	Date
IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-02-24

Details

Check Text ( C-90607r3_chk )
Check the owner of log files: # ls -lL /var/log /var/log/syslog /var/adm /var/adm: total 376 drw-r----- 2 root system 256 Jan 24 12:31 SRC drwx------ 4 root system 256 Jan 24 07:28 config -rw-r----- 1 root system 1081 Jan 24 09:05 dev_pkg.fail -rw-r----- 1 root system 250 Jan 24 09:05 dev_pkg.success -rw------- 1 root system 64 Jan 24 09:43 sulog drwxr-xr-x 3 root system 256 Jan 24 12:28 sw drwx------ 2 root system 256 Jan 24 08:06 wpars /var/log: total 8 drwxr-xr-x 2 root system 256 Jan 24 08:44 aso -rw-r----- 1 root system 603 Jan 24 10:30 cache_mgt.dr.log If any of the log files have owner other than "root", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-90607r3_chk )

Check the owner of log files:

# ls -lL /var/log /var/log/syslog /var/adm
/var/adm:
total 376
drw-r----- 2 root system 256 Jan 24 12:31 SRC
drwx------ 4 root system 256 Jan 24 07:28 config
-rw-r----- 1 root system 1081 Jan 24 09:05 dev_pkg.fail
-rw-r----- 1 root system 250 Jan 24 09:05 dev_pkg.success
-rw------- 1 root system 64 Jan 24 09:43 sulog
drwxr-xr-x 3 root system 256 Jan 24 12:28 sw
drwx------ 2 root system 256 Jan 24 08:06 wpars

/var/log:
total 8
drwxr-xr-x 2 root system 256 Jan 24 08:44 aso
-rw-r----- 1 root system 603 Jan 24 10:30 cache_mgt.dr.log

If any of the log files have owner other than "root", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-97651r1_fix)
Change the owner of the system log file(s) to "root": # chown root /path/to/system-log-file