Vulnerability Discussion

Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify the operating system or platform. Additionally, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives.

The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements.

Check

Verify that the Ubuntu operating system configures the /var/log/syslog file to be owned by syslog.

Check that the /var/log/syslog file is owned by syslog with the following command:

# sudo stat -c "%n %U" /var/log/syslog
/var/log/syslog syslog

If the /var/log/syslog file is not owned by syslog, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to have syslog own the /var/log/syslog file by running the following command:

# sudo chown syslog /var/log/syslog