6.1.4 Ensure permissions on /etc/group are configured

Information

The /etc/group file contains a list of all the valid groups defined in the system. The command below allows read/write access for root and read access for everyone else.

The /etc/group file needs to be protected from unauthorized changes by non-privileged users, but needs to be readable as this information is used with many non-privileged programs.

Solution

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

# chown root:root /etc/group

# chmod u-x,g-wx,o-wx /etc/group

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8498

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|14.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 61ca1af3d40995dd83fad3c48c6475409841b712e99a69541b12ea6dd57e0378