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V-281076

CAT II (Medium)

RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0000" for "/etc/shadow" to prevent unauthorized access.

Rule ID

SV-281076r1165583_rule

STIG

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R1

CCIs

CCI-000213

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 RHEL 10 is configured so 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

Configure RHEL 10 to enforce mode "0000" for "/etc/shadow" to prevent unauthorized access.

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

$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/shadow