The value mesg n must be configured as the default setting for all users.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | V-216343 | SRG-OS-000480 | SOL-11.1-040270 | SV-216343r959010_rule | 2026-02-19 | 3 |
Description
The "mesg n" command blocks attempts to use the "write" or "talk" commands to contact users at their terminals, but has the side effect of slightly strengthening permissions on the user's TTY device.
ℹ️ Check
Determine if "mesg n" is the default for users.
# grep "^mesg" /etc/.login
# grep "^mesg" /etc/profile
If either of these commands produces a line:
mesg y
this is a finding.
For each existing user on the system, enter the command:
# mesg
If the command output is:
is y
this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
The root role is required.
Edit the default profile configuration files.
# pfedit /etc/profile
# pfedit /etc/.login
In each file add a new line:
mesg n
For each user on the system, enter the command:
# mesg n