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V-257934

CAT II (Medium)

RHEL 9 /etc/shadow file must have mode 0000 to prevent unauthorized access.

Rule ID

SV-257934r991589_rule

STIG

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V2R8

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

The "/etc/shadow" file contains the list of local system accounts and stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security. Failure to give ownership of this file to root provides the designated owner with access to sensitive information, which could weaken the system security posture.

Check Content

Verify that the "/etc/shadow" file has mode "0000" with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/shadow

0 /etc/shadow

If a value of "0" is not returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the mode of the file "/etc/shadow" to "0000" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/shadow