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.

Rationale:

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 command to set permissions on /etc/group:

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

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3738