SV-37501r3: The SMTP service log file must be owned by root. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The SMTP service log file must be owned by root.

Description

Discussion Text

If the SMTP service log file is not owned by root, then unauthorized personnel may modify or delete the file to hide a system compromise.

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

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.

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.rhel11:def:290
LOG_PATH_VAR="mail\\.[^n][^/]*(/.*)/[^/\n]*$"
LOG_PATH_VAR_FILE=$(echo "$LOG_PATH_VAR" | sed 's/\./\\\./g')
LOG_PATH_VAR_DIR=$(echo "$LOG_PATH_VAR" | sed 's/\/[^/\n]*$//')
if [ ! -e "/etc/rsyslog.conf" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
LOG_FILES=$(grep -r "mail\.[^n][^/]*" /etc/rsyslog.conf | grep -oP "mail\\.[^n][^/]*\(/[^/\n]*\)/.*" | sed "s/\(/[^/\n]*\)\/$//")
for LOG_FILE in $LOG_FILES; do
    DIR=$(echo "$LOG_FILE" | sed "s/\(/[^/\n]*\)\/$//")
    FILE=$(echo "$LOG_FILE" | sed "s/.*\/\(.*\)$/\1")
    if [ ! -e "$DIR/$FILE" ]; then continue; fi
    OWNER=$(stat -c "%U" "$DIR/$FILE")
    if [ "$OWNER" = "root" ]; then continue; fi
    echo "FAIL"; exit 1
done
echo "PASS"; exit 0

Remediation

Change the ownership of the sendmail log file.

Procedure:
The fix procedure is the same for both sendmail and Postfix.
# chown root <sendmail log file>