SV-37873r1: The /etc/smb.conf file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Loading benchmark…

Assessment Title

Rule Text

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

Description

Discussion Text

If the group owner of the "smb.conf" file is not root or a system group, the file may be maliciously modified and the Samba configuration could be compromised.

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 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:378
# The /etc/smb.conf 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.

# /etc/samba/smb.conf group-owned by root/bin/sys/system
# file_object (file_test)
test_1() {
  ( [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/samba/smb.conf')" -eq 0 ] ) || ( [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/samba/smb.conf')" -eq 1 ] ) || ( [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/samba/smb.conf')" -eq 3 ] )
}

if test_1; 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.rhel11:def:378
if [ ! -f "/etc/samba/smb.conf" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ "$(stat -c "%G" /etc/samba/smb.conf)" = "root" ] || [ "$(stat -c "%G" /etc/samba/smb.conf)" = "bin" ] || [ "$(stat -c "%G" /etc/samba/smb.conf)" = "sys" ] || [ "$(stat -c "%G" /etc/samba/smb.conf)" = "system" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; else echo "FAIL"; exit 1; fi

Remediation

Change the group owner of the smb.conf file.

Procedure:
# chgrp root smb.conf