RHEL 10 must be configured so that the "/etc/shadow-" file is owned by "root".

STIG ID: RHEL-10-400070  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048 |  Severity: medium (CAT II)  |  CCI: CCI-000213 |  Vulnerability Id: V-281031

Vulnerability Discussion

The "/etc/shadow-" file is a backup file of "/etc/shadow", and as such contains the list of local system accounts and password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

Check

Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/shadow-" file is owned by "root" with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/shadow-
root /etc/shadow-

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

Fix

Configure RHEL 10 so that the owner of the "/etc/shadow-" file is set to "root" by running the following command:

$ sudo chown root /etc/shadow-
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