SV-38336r1: The /etc/passwd file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system. | HP-UX 11.23 Security Technical Implementation Guide

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The /etc/passwd file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system.

Description

Discussion Text

The /etc/passwd file contains the list of local system accounts. It is vital to system security and must be protected from unauthorized modification.

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000225

Additional Details

Responsibility

System Administrator

IA Controls

ECLP-1

References

DPMS Target HP-UX 11.23 DISA DPMS Target HP-UX 11.23 2170

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.fso.hpux11:def:77
# The /etc/passwd file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Test group of /etc/passwd is root
# file_object (file_test)
test_1() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/passwd')" -eq 0 ]
}
# Test existence of group bin
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_2() {
  grep -Pq '^bin:[^:]*:([0-9]+):' '/etc/group' &>/dev/null
}
# Test group of /etc/passwd is bin
# file_object (file_test)
test_3() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/passwd')" = "$(sed -En 's/^bin:[^:]*:([0-9]+):/\1/p' '/etc/group')" ]
}
# Test existence of group sys
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_4() {
  grep -Pq '^sys:[^:]*:([0-9]+):' '/etc/group' &>/dev/null
}
# Test group of /etc/passwd is sys
# file_object (file_test)
test_5() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/passwd')" = "$(sed -En 's/^sys:[^:]*:([0-9]+):/\1/p' '/etc/group')" ]
}
# Test existence of group system
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_6() {
  grep -Pq '^system:[^:]*:([0-9]+):' '/etc/group' &>/dev/null
}
# Test group of /etc/passwd is system
# file_object (file_test)
test_7() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/passwd')" = "$(sed -En 's/^system:[^:]*:([0-9]+):/\1/p' '/etc/group')" ]
}

if ( test_1 || ( test_2 && test_3 ) || ( test_4 && test_5 ) || ( test_6 && test_7 ) ); then
  echo "PASS"
else
  echo "FAIL"
fi

Assessment Script Powered by AISandbox-executed

A standalone Shell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked and actually executed in an isolated sandbox (not the real system this checks) — confirmed to run without errors.

#!/bin/sh
# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.fso.hpux11:def:77

if [ ! -f "/etc/passwd" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ "$(stat -c '%G' /etc/passwd)" = "root" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ "$(grep -E "^bin:[^:]*:" /etc/group | wc -l)" -ge 1 ] && [ "$(stat -c '%G' /etc/passwd)" = "bin" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ "$(grep -E "^sys:[^:]*:" /etc/group | wc -l)" -ge 1 ] && [ "$(stat -c '%G' /etc/passwd)" = "sys" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
echo "FAIL"; exit 1

Remediation

Change the group owner of the /etc/passwd file to root, bin, sys, or other.

Procedure:
# chgrp root /etc/passwd