Title

The macOS system must be configured with audit log files owned by root. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

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

Check Content

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

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system with audit log files owned by root with the following command: /usr/bin/sudo chown root [audit log file]

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-257172r905149_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-257172

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

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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