The /etc/passwd file must have mode 0644 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-798	GEN001380 M6	SV-37990r1_rule	ECLP-1	Medium

Description
If the password file is writable by a group owner or the world, the risk of password file compromise is increased. The password file contains the list of accounts on the system and associated information.

STIG	Date
MAC OSX 10.6 Workstation Security Technical Implementation Guide	2013-04-09

Details

Check Text ( C-37575r1_chk )
Open a terminal session and enter the following command to verify the permissions on the password file. ls -Ll /etc/passwd If the permissions are not set to 644, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32818r1_fix)
Open a terminal session and enter the following command to set the permissions for the password file. chmod 644 /etc/passwd