RHEL 9 /etc/passwd file must be owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257906	RHEL-09-232130	SV-257906r925705_rule		Medium

Description
The "/etc/passwd" file contains information about the users that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-61647r925703_chk )
Verify the ownership of the "/etc/passwd" file with the following command: $ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/passwd root /etc/passwd If "/etc/passwd" file does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61571r925704_fix)
Change the owner of the file /etc/passwd to root by running the following command: $ sudo chown root /etc/passwd