1.7.1.4 Ensure permissions on /etc/motd are configured

Information

The contents of the /etc/motd file are displayed to users after login and function as a
message of the day for authenticated users.

Rationale:

If the /etc/motd file does not have the correct ownership it could be modified by
unauthorized users with incorrect or misleading information.

Solution

Run the following commands to set permissions on /etc/motd :

# chown root:root /etc/motd
# chmod 644 /etc/motd

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2420

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, CSCv6|5.1, CSCv7|5.1

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 0bda8a2cd5f5412f3405e5976607add1318825d6b4b594ece065ebaf8f605085