RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0000" for "/etc/shadow" to prevent unauthorized access.

STIG ID: RHEL-10-400295  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048 |  Severity: medium (CAT II)  |  CCI: CCI-000213 |  Vulnerability Id: V-281076

Vulnerability Discussion

The "/etc/shadow" file contains the list of local system accounts and stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security. Failure to give ownership of this file to "root" provides the designated owner with access to sensitive information, which could weaken the system security posture.

Check

Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/shadow" file has mode "0000" with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/shadow
0 /etc/shadow

If a value of "0" is not returned, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure RHEL 10 to enforce mode "0000" for "/etc/shadow" to prevent unauthorized access.

Change the mode of the file "/etc/shadow" to "0000" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/shadow
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