RHEL 10 must enforce group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files to prevent unauthorized access.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281053 | RHEL-10-400180 | SV-281053r1165514_rule | CCI-000162 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029, SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281053r1165514_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 enforces group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files to prevent unauthorized access.
Determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command:
$ sudo grep "^log_file" /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log
Determine the audit log group by running the following command:
$ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_group = root
Check that the audit log file is owned by the correct group. Run the following command to display the owner of the audit log file:
$ sudo stat -c "%n %G" /var/log/audit/audit.log
/var/log/audit/audit.log root
The audit log file must be owned by the "log_group" or by "root" if the "log_group" is not specified.
If audit log files are owned by the incorrect group, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85519r1165513_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to enforce group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files to prevent unauthorized access.
Identify the group that is configured to own the audit log:
$ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
Change the ownership to that group using the following command:
$ sudo chgrp ${log_group} ${log_file}