Title

AIX cron and crontab directories must have a mode of 0640 or less permissive. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Incorrect permissions of the cron or crontab directories could permit unauthorized users the ability to alter cron jobs and run automated jobs as privileged users. Failure to set proper permissions of cron or crontab directories provides unauthorized users with the potential to access sensitive information or change the system configuration which could weaken the system's security posture.

Check Content

Check the mode of the "crontab" directory using command: # ls -ld /var/spool/cron/crontabs drw-r----- 2 bin cron 256 Jan 25 12:33 /var/spool/cron/crontabs If the file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the owner of the "crontab" directory: # chmod 640 /var/spool/cron/crontabs

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-245560r991589_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-245560

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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