SV-37224r1: The /etc/access.conf file must be owned by root. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The /etc/access.conf file must be owned by root.

Description

Discussion Text

The /etc/access.conf file contains entries restricting access from the system console by authorized System Administrators. If the file is owned by a user other than root, it could compromise the system.

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000225Not mappedCCI-000366

Additional Details

Responsibility

System Administrator

IA Controls

ECLP-1

References

DPMS Target Red Hat 5 DISA DPMS Target Red Hat 5 2154

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.rhel11:def:14
# The /etc/access.conf file must be owned by root.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Test owner of /etc/login.access is root
# file_object (file_test)
test_1() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%u' '/etc/login.access')" -eq 0 ]
}
# Test owner of /etc/security/access.conf is root
# file_object (file_test)
test_2() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%u' '/etc/security/access.conf')" -eq 0 ]
}
# Test owner of /etc/access.conf is root
# file_object (file_test)
test_3() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%u' '/etc/access.conf')" -eq 0 ]
}

if ( test_1 && test_2 && test_3 ); 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:mil.disa.fso.rhel11:def:14
if [ -f /etc/security/access.conf ] && [ $(stat -c %U /etc/security/access.conf) = 0 ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi; if [ -f /etc/access.conf ] && [ $(stat -c %U /etc/access.conf) = 0 ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi; echo "FAIL"; exit 1

Remediation

Follow the correct configuration parameters for access configuration file. Use the chown command to configure it properly. 
(for example:
# chown root /etc/security/access.conf  
 ).