Title

Amazon Linux 2023 audit logs file must have mode "0600" or less permissive to prevent unauthorized access to the audit log. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify Amazon Linux 2023 or platform. Additionally, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives. The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements.

Check Content

Verify Amazon Linux 2023 is configured so that the audit logs have a mode of "0600". First determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command: $ sudo grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log Then using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log files as a mode of "0640" with the following command: $ sudo find /var/log/audit/ -type f -exec stat -c '%a %n' {} \; 600 /var/log/audit/audit.log If the audit logs have a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure Amazon Linux 2023 audit logs to have a mode of "0600" with the following command: Replace "[audit_log_file]" to the correct audit log path, by default this location is "/var/log/audit/audit.log". $ sudo chmod 0600 /var/log/audit/[audit_log_file] Check the group that owns the system audit logs: $ sudo grep -m 1 -q ^log_group /etc/audit/auditd.conf If the log_group is not defined or it is set to root, configure the permissions as follows: $ sudo chmod 0640 $log_file $ sudo chmod 0440 $log_file.* Otherwise, configure the permissions as follows: $ sudo chmod 0600 $log_file $ sudo chmod 0400 $log_file.*

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-274118r1120342_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-274118

Group Title: SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084

Expert Comments

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