RHEL-09-653080 RHEL 9 audit logs must be group-owned by root or by a restricted logging group to prevent unauthorized read access.
All changes in this version
Maps to AU-9, SI-11 via CCI-000162, CCI-000163, CCI-000164, CCI-001314
Title
RHEL 9 audit logs must be group-owned by root or by a restricted logging group to prevent unauthorized read access.
Control
Verify the audit logs are group-owned by "root" or a restricted logging group. First determine if a group other than "root" has been assigned to the audit logs with the following command: $ sudo grep log_group /etc/audit/auditd.conf Then determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command: $ sudo grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log Then using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log is group-owned by "root" using the following command: $ sudo stat -c "%G %n" /var/log/audit/audit.log root /var/log/audit/audit.log If the audit log is not group-owned by "root" or the configured alternative logging group, this is a finding.
Discussion
Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029, SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084
Related controls
CCI-000162, CCI-000163, CCI-000164, CCI-001314
Fix
Change the group of the directory of "/var/log/audit" to be owned by a correct group. Identify the group that is configured to own audit log: $ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf Change the ownership to that group: $ sudo chgrp ${GROUP} /var/log/audit