6.1.7 Ensure permissions on /etc/passwd- are configured

Information

The /etc/passwd- file contains backup user account information.

It is critical to ensure that the /etc/passwd- file is protected from unauthorized access. Although it is protected by default, the file permissions could be changed either inadvertently or through malicious actions.

Solution

Run the following commands to set owner, group, and permissions on /etc/passwd- :

# chown root:root /etc/passwd-
# chmod chmod u-x,go-wx /etc/passwd-

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3742

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL, MEDIA PROTECTION

References: 800-53|AC-3, 800-53|AC-5, 800-53|AC-6, 800-53|MP-2, CSCv7|16.4

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 6f345a10008f602d86ac1be78df5818c368e6eb6c625109b29c3a4f6daf5ad47