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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
GEN001380-ESXI5-PNF	GEN001380-ESXI5-PNF	GEN001380-ESXI5-PNF_rule		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. Not applicable - Not a General Purpose (GP) OS. VMware's ESXi-v5 is a multi-user kernel where all users are "administrator" with either: Administrator with Full and partial (configurable) privileges, Read-only, or No Access. In this case, the file owner, group-owner and mode(s) have no meaning.

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. Not applicable - Not a General Purpose (GP) OS. VMware's ESXi-v5 is a multi-user kernel where all users are "administrator" with either: Administrator with Full and partial (configurable) privileges, Read-only, or No Access. In this case, the file owner, group-owner and mode(s) have no meaning.

STIG	Date
VMware ESXi v5 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2013-01-15

Details

Check Text ( C-GEN001380-ESXI5-PNF_chk )
ESXi supports this requirement and cannot be configured to be out of compliance. This is a permanent not a finding.

Fix Text (F-GEN001380-ESXI5-PNF_fix)
This requirement is permanent not a finding. No fix is required.