RHEL 10 must set mode "0600" or less permissive for the audit logs file to prevent unauthorized access to the audit log.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281054 | RHEL-10-400185 | SV-281054r1197224_rule | CCI-000162 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify the RHEL 10 system or platform. Additionally, personally identifiable information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives. The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements. 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-281054r1197224_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 audit logs have a mode of "0600".
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
Using the location of the audit log file, determine the mode of each audit log with the following command:
$ sudo find /var/log/audit/ -type f -exec stat -c '%a %n' {} \;
600 /var/log/audit/audit.log
If the audit logs have a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85520r1165516_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 audit logs to have a mode of "0600" with the following command:
Replace "[audit_log_file]" with the path to each audit log file. By default, these logs are located in "/var/log/audit/":
$ sudo chmod 0600 /var/log/audit/[audit_log_file]
Check the group that owns the system audit logs:
$ sudo grep -iw log_group /etc/audit/auditd.conf
If "log_group" is set to a user other than "root", configure the permissions the following way:
$ sudo chmod 0640 $log_file
$ sudo chmod 0440 $log_file.*
Otherwise, configure the permissions the following way:
$ sudo chmod 0600 $log_file
$ sudo chmod 0400 $log_file.*