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V-204462

CAT I (High)

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the root account must be the only account having unrestricted access to the system.

Rule ID

SV-204462r991589_rule

STIG

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R15

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If an account other than root also has a User Identifier (UID) of "0", it has root authority, giving that account unrestricted access to the entire operating system. Multiple accounts with a UID of "0" afford an opportunity for potential intruders to guess a password for a privileged account.

Check Content

Check the system for duplicate UID "0" assignments with the following command:

# awk -F: '$3 == 0 {print $1}' /etc/passwd

If any accounts other than root have a UID of "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the UID of any account on the system, other than root, that has a UID of "0". 

If the account is associated with system commands or applications, the UID should be changed to one greater than "0" but less than "1000". Otherwise, assign a UID of greater than "1000" that has not already been assigned.