RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0644" or less permissive for the "/etc/passwd" file to prevent unauthorized access.

STIG ID: RHEL-10-400265  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048 |  Severity: medium (CAT II)  |  CCI: CCI-000213 |  Vulnerability Id: V-281070

Vulnerability Discussion

If the "/etc/passwd" file is writable by a group-owner or the world, the risk of its compromise is increased. The file contains the list of accounts on the system and associated information, and protection of this file is critical for system security.

Check

Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/passwd" file has mode "0644" or less permissive with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/passwd
644 /etc/passwd

If a value of "0644" or less permissive is not returned, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure RHEL 10 so that the mode of the file "/etc/passwd" is set to "0644" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd
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