Title

System audit logs must be owned by root. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Failure to give ownership of system audit log files to root provides the designated owner and unauthorized users with the potential to access sensitive information.

Check Content

Perform the following to determine the location of audit logs and then check the ownership. Procedure: # (audit_log_file=$(grep "^log_file" /etc/audit/auditd.conf|sed s/^[^\/]*//) && if [ -f "${audit_log_file}" ] ; then printf "Log(s) found in "${audit_log_file%/*}":\n"; ls -l ${audit_log_file%/*}; else printf "audit log file(s) not found\n"; fi) If any audit log file is not owned by root, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the ownership of the audit log file(s). Procedure: # chown root <audit log file>

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-45208r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-812

Group Title: GEN002680

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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