RHEL 9 library directories must be group-owned by root or a system account.

STIG ID: RHEL-09-232215  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000259-GPOS-00100 |  Severity: medium |  CCI: CCI-001499 |  Vulnerability Id: V-257923

Vulnerability Discussion

If RHEL 9 allowed any user to make changes to software libraries, then those changes might be implemented without undergoing the appropriate testing and approvals that are part of a robust change management process.

This requirement applies to RHEL 9 with software libraries that are accessible and configurable, as in the case of interpreted languages. Software libraries also include privileged programs that execute with escalated privileges.

Check

Verify the systemwide shared library directories are group-owned by "root" with the following command:

$ sudo find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 ! -group root -type d -exec stat -c "%G %n" {} \;

If any systemwide shared library directory is returned and is not group-owned by a required system account, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the systemwide shared library directories (/lib, /lib64, /usr/lib and /usr/lib64) to be protected from unauthorized access.

Run the following command, replacing "[DIRECTORY]" with any library directory not group-owned by "root".

$ sudo chgrp root [DIRECTORY]