The operating system must reveal error messages only to authorized personnel.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | V-216202 | SRG-OS-000206 | SOL-11.1-070240 | SV-216202r958566_rule | 2026-02-19 | 3 |
Description
Proper file permissions and ownership ensures that only designated personnel in the organization can access error messages.
ℹ️ Check
Check the permissions of the /var/adm/messages file:
# ls -l /var/adm/messages
Check the permissions of the /var/adm directory:
# ls -ld /var/adm
If the owner and group of /var/adm/messages is not root and the permissions are not 640, this is a finding.
If the owner of /var/adm is not root, group is not sys, and the permissions are not 750, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
The root role is required.
Change the permissions and owner on the /var/adm/messages file:
# chmod 640 /var/adm/messages
# chown root /var/adm/messages
# chgrp root /var/adm/messages
Change the permissions and owner on the /var/adm directory:
# chmod 750 /var/adm
# chown root /var/adm
# chgrp sys /var/adm