OL 9 /etc/passwd- file must have mode 0644 or less permissive to prevent unauthorized access.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-271811 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | OL09-00-002549 | SV-271811r1092145_rule | 2026-02-17 | 1 |
Description
The "/etc/passwd-" file is a backup file of "/etc/passwd", and as such, contains information about the users that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is critical for system security.
ℹ️ Check
Verify that OL 9 configures the "/etc/passwd-" file to have a mode of "0644" or less permissive with the following command:
$ stat -c "%a %n" /etc/passwd-
644 /etc/passwd-
If a value of "0644" or less permissive is not returned, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Change the mode of the file "/etc/passwd-" to "0644" by running the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd-