Title

The macOS system must configure system log files to be owned by root and group to wheel. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The system log files must be owned by root. System logs contain sensitive data about the system and users. If log files are set to only be readable and writable by system administrators, the risk is mitigated. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083,SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084

Check Content

Verify the macOS system is configured with system log files owned by root and group to wheel with the following command: /usr/bin/stat -f '%Su:%Sg:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk '!/^root:wheel:/{print $1}' | /usr/bin/wc -l | /usr/bin/tr -d ' ' If the result is not "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system with system log files owned by root and group to wheel with the following command: /usr/sbin/chown root:wheel $(/usr/bin/stat -f '%Su:%Sg:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk -F":" '!/^root:wheel:/{print $3}')

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-259556r941290_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-259556

Group Title: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083

Expert Comments

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