RHEL 9 /etc/group- file must have mode 0644 or less permissive to prevent unauthorized access.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257892	RHEL-09-232060	SV-257892r991589_rule		Medium

Description

The "/etc/group-" file is a backup file of "/etc/group", and as such, contains information regarding groups that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is important for system security.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-12-04

Details

Check Text (C-61633r925661_chk)

Verify that the "/etc/group-" file has mode "0644" or less permissive with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/group-

644 /etc/group-

If a value of "0644" or less permissive is not returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61557r925662_fix)

Change the mode of the file "/etc/group-" to "0644" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/group-