Title

The macOS system must configure audit log files group to wheel. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Audit log files must have the group set to wheel. 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 users. If log files are set to be readable and writable only by system administrators, the risk is mitigated. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027,SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028,SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029,SRG-OS-000256-GPOS-00097,SRG-OS-000257-GPOS-00098,SRG-OS-000258-GPOS-00099

Check Content

Verify the macOS system is configured with audit log files group-owned by wheel with the following command: /bin/ls -n $(/usr/bin/grep '^dir' /etc/security/audit_control | /usr/bin/awk -F: '{print $2}') | /usr/bin/awk '{s+=$4} END {print s}' If the result is not "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system with audit log files group-owned by wheel with the following command: /usr/bin/chgrp -R wheel /var/audit/*

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-259458r940996_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-259458

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.