The AIX /etc/hosts file must be owned by root.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-245557 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | AIX7-00-002140 | SV-245557r991589_rule | 2024-08-16 | 3 |
| Description |
|---|
| Unauthorized ownership of the /etc/hosts file can lead to the ability for a malicious actor to redirect traffic to servers of their choice. It is also possible to use the /etc/hosts file to block detection by security software by blocking the traffic to all the download or update servers of well-known security vendors. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| Check the ownership of /etc/hosts using command: # ls -al /etc/hosts The above command should yield the following output: -rw-r----- 1 root system 993 Mar 11 07:04 /etc/hosts If the file is not owned by root, this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| Change the ownership of the file to root using command: # chown root /etc/hosts |