Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide (V1 R3) has 435 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V1 · R3

CurrentPublished Wed Sep 30 2026

RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0644" or less permissive for the "/etc/passwd" file to prevent unauthorized access.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0644" or less permissive for the "/etc/passwd" file to prevent unauthorized access.

Description

Discussion Text

If the "/etc/passwd" file is writable by a group-owner or the world, the risk of its compromise is increased. The file contains the list of accounts on the system and associated information, and protection of this file is critical for system security.

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-281070

Rule

SV-281070r1268226_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400265

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/passwd" file has mode "0644" or less permissive with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/passwd
644 /etc/passwd

If a value of "0644" or less permissive is not returned, this is a finding.

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Configure RHEL 10 so that the mode of the file "/etc/passwd" is set to "0644" by running the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd

STIG check 139 of 435 in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 STIG checklist

← Previous · V-281069RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0000" or less permissive for the "/etc/gshadow-" file to prevent unauthorized access.Next · V-281071 →RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0644" or less permissive for "/etc/passwd-" file to prevent unauthorized access.