OL 8 audit logs must be owned by root to prevent unauthorized read access.

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality.

Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, audit reports) needed to successfully audit OL 8 activity.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029

Verify the audit logs are owned by "root".

Determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command:

$ sudo grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf 

log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log

Using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log is owned by "root" using the following command:

$ sudo ls -al /var/log/audit/audit.log 

rw------- 2 root root 23 Jun 11 11:56 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit log is not owned by "root", this is a finding.

Configure the audit log to be protected from unauthorized read access by setting the correct owner as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo chown root [audit_log_file] 

Replace "[audit_log_file]" to the correct audit log path. By default, this location is "/var/log/audit/audit.log".