The /etc/shadow file must have mode 0000.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-217873	RHEL-06-000035	SV-217873r505923_rule		Medium

Description
The "/etc/shadow" file contains the list of local system accounts and stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security. Failure to give ownership of this file to root provides the designated owner with access to sensitive information which could weaken the system security posture.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-09-03

Details

Check Text ( C-19354r376634_chk )
To check the permissions of "/etc/shadow", run the command: $ ls -l /etc/shadow If properly configured, the output should indicate the following permissions: "----------" If it does not, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-19352r376635_fix)
To properly set the permissions of "/etc/shadow", run the command: # chmod 0000 /etc/shadow