The /etc/syslog.conf file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
GEN005420-ESXI5-PNF	GEN005420-ESXI5-PNF	GEN005420-ESXI5-PNF_rule		Medium

Description
If the group owner of /etc/syslog.conf is not root, bin, or sys, unauthorized users could be permitted to view, edit, or delete important system messages handled by the syslog facility. Applicable, but permanent not-a-finding - 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 group owner of /etc/syslog.conf is not root, bin, or sys, unauthorized users could be permitted to view, edit, or delete important system messages handled by the syslog facility. Applicable, but permanent not-a-finding - 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-GEN005420-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-GEN005420-ESXI5-PNF_fix)
This requirement is permanent not a finding. No fix is required.