RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0644" or less permissive for the "/etc/passwd" file to prevent unauthorized access.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-281070 | SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048 | RHEL-10-400265 | SV-281070r1165565_rule | 2026-03-11 | 1 |
Description
If the "/etc/passwd" file is writable by a group-owner or the world, the risk of its compromise is increased. The file contains the list of accounts on the system and associated information, and protection of this file is critical for system security.
ℹ️ Check
Verify RHEL 10 is configured so that the "/etc/passwd" file has mode "0644" or less permissive with the following command:
$ sudo 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
Configure RHEL 10 so that the mode of the file "/etc/passwd" is set to "0644" by running the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/passwd