OL 9 /etc/shadow file must be group-owned by root.

STIG ID: OL09-00-002550  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 |  Severity: medium |  CCI: CCI-000366 |  Vulnerability Id: V-271812

Vulnerability Discussion

The "/etc/shadow" file stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

Check

Verify that OL 9 configures group ownership of the "/etc/shadow" file with the following command:

$ stat -c "%G %n" /etc/shadow
root /etc/shadow

If "/etc/shadow" file does not have a group owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix

Change the group of the file /etc/shadow to root by running the following command:

$ sudo chgrp root /etc/shadow