SV-230399r1017205: RHEL 8 audit log directory must be owned by root to prevent unauthorized read access. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

RHEL 8 audit log directory must be owned by root to prevent unauthorized read access.

Description

Discussion Text

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality. Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, audit reports) needed to successfully audit RHEL 8 activity. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000162

References

DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 DISA DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 2921

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.stig.rhel8os:def:230399
LOG_DIR=$(grep '^log_file\\s*=\\s*' /etc/audit/auditd.conf | sed -r's/^\\s*log_file\\s*=\\s*([^/]*).*$/\1/' | head -n 1)
if [ -z "$LOG_DIR" ]; then LOG_DIR="/var/log/audit"; fi
if [ ! -d "$LOG_DIR" ]; then echo "FAIL"; exit 1; fi
if [ $(stat -c "%u" "$LOG_DIR") -ne 0 ]; then echo "FAIL"; exit 1; fi
echo "PASS"; exit 0

Remediation

Configure the audit log to be protected from unauthorized read access, by setting the correct owner as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo chown root [audit_log_directory]

Replace "[audit_log_directory]" with the correct audit log directory path, by default this location is usually "/var/log/audit".