Title

The macOS system must be configured with audit log folders group-owned by wheel. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The audit service must be configured to create log files with the correct group ownership to prevent normal users from reading audit logs. Audit logs contain sensitive data about the system and about users. If log files are set to be readable and writable only by root or administrative users with sudo, the risk is mitigated.

Check Content

Verify the macOS system is configured with audit log folders group-owned by wheel with the following command: /usr/bin/sudo /bin/ls -lde $(/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/grep '^dir' /etc/security/audit_control | /usr/bin/awk -F: '{print $2}') If the folders are not group-owned by wheel, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system with audit log folders group-owned by wheel with the following command: /usr/bin/sudo chgrp wheel [audit log folder]

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-257175r905158_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-257175

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

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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