Title

RHEL 8 audit log directory must have a mode of 0700 or less permissive to prevent unauthorized read access. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality. Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, audit reports) needed to successfully audit RHEL 8 system activity. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029

Check Content

Verify the audit log directories have a mode of "0700" or less permissive by first determining where the audit logs are stored with the following command: $ sudo grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log Using the location of the audit log, determine the directory where the audit logs are stored (ex: "/var/log/audit"). Run the following command to determine the permissions for the audit log folder: $ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /var/log/audit 700 /var/log/audit If the audit log directory has a mode more permissive than "0700", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the audit log directory to be protected from unauthorized read access by setting the correct permissive mode with the following command: $ sudo chmod 0700 [audit_log_directory] Replace "[audit_log_directory]" to the correct audit log directory path, by default this location is "/var/log/audit".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-230401r1017207_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-230401

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.