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The system must not have the unnecessary "news" account.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-27275 GEN000290-2 SV-34574r1_rule IAAC-1 Medium
Description
Accounts that provide no operational purpose provide additional opportunities for system compromise. Unnecessary accounts include user accounts for individuals not requiring access to the system and application accounts for applications not installed on the system.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2015-12-03

Details

Check Text ( C-37783r1_chk )
Check the system for the unnecessary "news" accounts.

Procedure:
# rpm -q inn
If the "inn" is installed the "news" user is necessary and this is not a finding.

# grep ^news /etc/passwd
If this account exists and "inn" is not installed, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-33038r1_fix)
Remove the "news" account from the /etc/passwd file before connecting a system to the network.