RHEL 9 library files must be group-owned by root or a system account.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257921	RHEL-09-232205	SV-257921r1044985_rule		Medium

Description

If RHEL 9 allowed any user to make changes to software libraries, then those changes might be implemented without undergoing the appropriate testing and approvals that are part of a robust change management process. This requirement applies to RHEL 9 with software libraries that are accessible and configurable, as in the case of interpreted languages. Software libraries also include privileged programs that execute with escalated privileges.

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

Details

Check Text (C-61662r1044983_chk)

Verify the systemwide shared library files are group-owned by "root" with the following command:

$ sudo find -L /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 ! -group root -exec stat -L -c "%G %n" {} \;

If any systemwide shared library file is returned and is not group-owned by a required system account, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61586r1044984_fix)

Configure the systemwide shared library files (/lib, /lib64, /usr/lib and /usr/lib64) to be protected from unauthorized access.

Run the following command, replacing "[FILE]" with any library file not group-owned by "root".

$ sudo chgrp root [FILE]