Title

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the root account must be the only account having unrestricted access to the system. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

If an account other than root also has a User Identifier (UID) of "0", it has root authority, giving that account unrestricted access to the entire operating system. Multiple accounts with a UID of "0" afford an opportunity for potential intruders to guess a password for a privileged account.

Check Content

Check the system for duplicate UID "0" assignments with the following command: # awk -F: '$3 == 0 {print $1}' /etc/passwd If any accounts other than root have a UID of "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the UID of any account on the system, other than root, that has a UID of "0". If the account is associated with system commands or applications, the UID should be changed to one greater than "0" but less than "1000". Otherwise, assign a UID of greater than "1000" that has not already been assigned.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204462r603261_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204462

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.