SV-251712r1050789: The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation.

Description

Discussion Text

Without re-authentication, users may access resources or perform tasks for which they do not have authorization. When operating systems provide the capability to escalate a functional capability, it is critical the user re-authenticate. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000373-GPOS-00156, SRG-OS-000373-GPOS-00157, SRG-OS-000373-GPOS-00158

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-002038Not mappedCCI-004895

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.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.rhel8os:def:251712
# The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# pam_succeed_if is not present in /etc/pam.d/sudo
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_1() {
  ! ( grep -Pq '^\s*[^#\n]*\bpam_succeed_if\b' '/etc/pam.d/sudo' &>/dev/null )
}

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.stig.rhel8os:def:251712

FILE="/etc/pam.d/sudo"
if [ ! -f "$FILE" ]; then
    echo "PASS"
    exit 0
fi

if grep -q "^\\s*[^#\\n]*\\bpam_succeed_if\\b" "$FILE"; then
    echo "FAIL"
    exit 1
fi

echo "PASS"
exit 0

Remediation

Configure the operating system to require users to supply a password for privilege escalation.

Check the configuration of the "/etc/ pam.d/sudo" file with the following command:
$ sudo vi /etc/pam.d/sudo

Remove any occurrences of "pam_succeed_if" in the file.