The AIX /etc/hosts file must have a mode of 0640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-245559	AIX7-00-002142	SV-245559r755118_rule		Medium

Description
Unauthorized permissions of the /etc/hosts file can lead to the ability for a malicious actor to redirect traffic to servers of their choice. It is also possible to use the /etc/hosts file to block detection by security software by blocking the traffic to all the download or update servers of well-known security vendors.

STIG	Date
IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-06-16

Details

Check Text ( C-48838r755116_chk )
Check the mode of /etc/hosts using command: # ls -al /etc/hosts The above command should yield the following output: -rw-r----- 1 root root 993 Mar 11 07:04 /etc/hosts If the file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-48793r755117_fix)
Change the ownership of the file to root using command: # chmod 0640 /etc/hosts