SV-257909r991589: RHEL 9 /etc/passwd- file must be group-owned by root. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

RHEL 9 /etc/passwd- file must be group-owned by root.

Description

Discussion Text

The "/etc/passwd-" file is a backup file of "/etc/passwd", and as such, contains information about the users that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000366

References

DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 DISA DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 5551

Checks

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

Verify the group ownership of the "/etc/passwd-" file with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%G %n" /etc/passwd-

root /etc/passwd-

If "/etc/passwd-" file does not have a group owner of "root", this is a finding.

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.rhel9os:def:257909
# RHEL 9 /etc/passwd- file must be group-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.

# /etc/passwd- file is group-owned by root
# file_object (file_test)
test_1() {
  [ "$(stat -c '%g' '/etc/passwd-')" -eq 0 ]
}

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.rhel9os:def:257909

if [ ! -f "/etc/passwd" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ "$(stat -c "%G" /etc/passwd)" != "root" ]; then echo "FAIL"; exit 1; fi
echo "PASS"; exit 0

Remediation

Change the group of the file /etc/passwd- to root by running the following command:

$ sudo chgrp root /etc/passwd-