RHEL 10 must be configured so that the "/etc/passwd" file is owned by "root".
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281025 | RHEL-10-400040 | SV-281025r1165430_rule | CCI-000213 | 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 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281025r1165430_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/passwd" file is owned by "root" with the following command:
$ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/passwd
root /etc/passwd
If the "/etc/passwd" file does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85491r1165429_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 so that the owner of the "/etc/passwd" file is set to "root" by running the following command:
$ sudo chown root /etc/passwd