The /etc/shadow file must be owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-38502	RHEL-06-000033	SV-50303r1_rule		Medium

Description
The "/etc/shadow" file contains the list of local system accounts and stores password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security. Failure to give ownership of this file to root provides the designated owner with access to sensitive information which could weaken the system security posture.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2016-12-16

Details

Check Text ( C-46059r1_chk )
To check the ownership of "/etc/shadow", run the command: $ ls -l /etc/shadow If properly configured, the output should indicate the following owner: "root" If it does not, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-43449r1_fix)
To properly set the owner of "/etc/shadow", run the command: # chown root /etc/shadow