The macOS system must configure system log files owned by root and group to wheel.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-268552 | APPL-15-004030 | SV-268552r1034596_rule | CCI-001312 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| The system log files must be owned by root. System logs contain sensitive data about the system and users. Setting log files to be readable and writable only by system administrators mitigates the risk. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000205-GPOS-00083, SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-05 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-268552r1034596_chk)
Verify the macOS system is configured with system log files owned by root and group to wheel with the following command:
/usr/bin/stat -f '%Su:%Sg:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk '!/^root:wheel:/{print $1}' | /usr/bin/wc -l | /usr/bin/tr -d ' '
If the result is not "0", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-72483r1034595_fix)
Configure the macOS system with system log files owned by root and group to wheel with the following command:
/usr/sbin/chown root:wheel $(/usr/bin/stat -f '%Su:%Sg:%N' $(/usr/bin/grep -v '^#' /etc/newsyslog.conf | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $1 }') 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/awk -F":" '!/^root:wheel:/{print $3}')