APPL-15-004002 The macOS system must configure Apple System Log (ASL) files to mode 640 or less permissive.
All changes in this version
Maps to SI-11 via CCI-001312, CCI-001314
Title
The macOS system must configure Apple System Log (ASL) files to mode 640 or less permissive.
Control
Verify the macOS system is configured with ASL files to mode 640 or less permissive with the following command: /usr/bin/stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -e '^>' /etc/asl.conf /etc/asl/* | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $2 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk '!/640/{print $1}' | /usr/bin/wc -l | /usr/bin/tr -d ' ' If the result is not "0", this is a finding.
Discussion
The Apple System Logs must be configured to be writable by root and readable only by the root user and group wheel. To achieve this, ASL files must be configured to mode 640 permissive or less, thereby preventing normal users from reading, modifying, or deleting audit logs. System logs frequently contain sensitive information that could be used by an attacker. Setting the correct permissions mitigates this risk. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083, SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084
Related controls
CCI-001312, CCI-001314
Fix
Configure the macOS system with ASL files to mode 640 with the following command: /bin/chmod 640 $(/usr/bin/stat -f '%A:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -e '^>' /etc/asl.conf /etc/asl/* | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $2 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk -F":" '!/640/{print $2}')