Title

The macOS system must be configured so that log files must not contain access control lists (ACLs). (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The audit service must be configured to create log files with the correct permissions to prevent normal users from reading audit logs. Audit logs contain sensitive data about the system and users. If log files are set to be readable and writable only by root or administrative users with sudo, the risk is mitigated. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084

Check Content

To check if a log file contains ACLs, run the following commands: /usr/bin/sudo ls -le $(/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/grep '^dir' /etc/security/audit_control | awk -F: '{print $2}') | /usr/bin/grep -v current In the output from the above commands, ACLs will be listed under any file that may contain them (e.g., "0: group:admin allow list,readattr,reaadextattr,readsecurity"). If any such line exists, this is a finding.

Fix Text

For any log file that contains ACLs, run the following command: /usr/bin/sudo chmod -N [audit log file]

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-252452r816170_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-252452

Group Title: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.