RHEL 9 /etc/gshadow file must be owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257902	RHEL-09-232110	SV-257902r991589_rule		Medium

Description

The "/etc/gshadow" file contains group password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

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

Details

Check Text (C-61643r925691_chk)

Verify the ownership of the "/etc/gshadow" file with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/gshadow

root /etc/gshadow

If "/etc/gshadow" file does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61567r925692_fix)

Change the owner of the file /etc/gshadow to root by running the following command:

$ sudo chown root /etc/gshadow