RHEL 9 /etc/gshadow- file must have mode 0000 or less permissive to prevent unauthorized access.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-257894 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | RHEL-09-232070 | SV-257894r991589_rule | 2026-02-05 | 2 |
Description
The "/etc/gshadow-" file is a backup of "/etc/gshadow", and as such, contains group password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.
ℹ️ Check
Verify that the "/etc/gshadow-" file has mode "0000" with the following command:
$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/gshadow-
0 /etc/gshadow-
If a value of "0" is not returned, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Change the mode of the file "/etc/gshadow-" to "0000" by running the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0000 /etc/gshadow-