RHEL 8 audit logs must be group-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 RHEL 8 activity.

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

Verify the audit logs are group-owned by "root". First 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 group-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 group-owned by "root", this is a finding.

Configure the audit log to be owned by root by configuring the log group in the /etc/audit/auditd.conf file:

log_group = root