AIX time synchronization configuration file must have mode 0640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-215281	AIX7-00-002090	SV-215281r508663_rule		Medium

Description
A synchronized system clock is critical for the enforcement of time-based policies and the correlation of logs and audit records with other systems. If an illicit time source is used for synchronization, the integrity of system logs and the security of the system could be compromised. File permissions more permissive than 0640 for time synchronization configuration file may allow access and change the config file by system intruders or malicious users, could result in the failure of time synchronization.

Description

A synchronized system clock is critical for the enforcement of time-based policies and the correlation of logs and audit records with other systems. If an illicit time source is used for synchronization, the integrity of system logs and the security of the system could be compromised. File permissions more permissive than 0640 for time synchronization configuration file may allow access and change the config file by system intruders or malicious users, could result in the failure of time synchronization.

STIG	Date
IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide	2022-06-06

Details

Check Text ( C-16479r294294_chk )
Determine the mode of the ntp.conf file: # ls -l /etc/ntp.conf The above command should yield the following output: -rw-r----- 1 root system 993 Aug 25 18:26 /etc/ntp.conf If the mode is more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-16477r294295_fix)
Change the mode of the "ntp.conf" file to "0640" or less permissive: # chmod 0640 /etc/ntp.conf