Title

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the cron.allow file, if it exists, is owned by root. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

If the owner of the "cron.allow" file is not set to root, the possibility exists for an unauthorized user to view or to edit sensitive information.

Check Content

Verify that the "cron.allow" file is owned by root. Check the owner of the "cron.allow" file with the following command: # ls -al /etc/cron.allow -rw------- 1 root root 6 Mar 5 2011 /etc/cron.allow If the "cron.allow" file exists and has an owner other than root, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Set the owner on the "/etc/cron.allow" file to root with the following command: # chown root /etc/cron.allow

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204490r991589_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204490

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.