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

STIG ID: RHEL-10-400270  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048 |  Severity: medium (CAT II)  |  CCI: CCI-000213 |  Vulnerability Id: V-281071

Vulnerability Discussion

The "/etc/passwd-" file is a backup file of "/etc/passwd", and as such contains information about the users that are configured on the system. 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 "/etc/passwd-" file is set to "0644" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd-
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