OL 8 audit logs must be group-owned by root to prevent unauthorized read access.

STIG ID: OL08-00-030090  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027 | Severity: medium |  CCI: CCI-000162,CCI-000163,CCI-000164

Vulnerability Discussion

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality.

Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, audit reports) needed to successfully audit OL 8 activity.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029

Check

Verify the audit logs are group-owned by "root".

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

Using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log is group-owned by "root" using the following command:

$ sudo ls -al /var/log/audit/audit.log

rw------- 2 root root 23 Jun 11 11:56 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit log is not group-owned by "root", this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the audit log to be protected from unauthorized read access by setting the correct group-owner as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo chgrp root [audit_log_file]

Replace "[audit_log_file]" to the correct audit log path. By default, this location is "/var/log/audit/audit.log".