STIGUI
V-260505CAT II — Medium severitySV-260505r958566_rule

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must be configured so that the "journalctl" command is owned by "root".

Rule version UBTU-22-232100 · STIG v2 · 2026-09-09

Discussion

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 operating 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.

Check

Verify that the "journalctl" command is owned by "root" by using the following command:

     $ sudo find /usr/bin/journalctl -exec stat -c "%n %U" {} \; 
     /usr/bin/journalctl root 

If "journalctl" is not owned by "root", this is a finding.

Fix

Configure "journalctl" to be owned by "root":

     $ sudo chown root /usr/bin/journalctl

Identifiers

Group ID
V-260505
Group title
SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084
Rule ID
SV-260505r958566_rule
Check ID
C-64234r953326_chk
Fix ID
F-64142r953327_fix