STIGUI
V-282518CAT II — Medium severitySV-282518r1200534_rule

TOSS 5 /var/log directory must be owned by root.

Rule version TOSS-05-000171 · STIG v1 · 2026-08-20

Discussion

Only authorized personnel should be aware of errors and the details of the errors. Error messages are an indicator of an organization's operational state or can identify the TOSS 5 system or platform. Additionally, personally identifiable information (PII) and operational information must not be revealed through error messages to unauthorized personnel or their designated representatives.

The structure and content of error messages must be carefully considered by the organization and development team. The extent to which the information system is able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements.

Check

Verify the "/var/log" directory is owned by root using the following command:

$ ls -ld /var/log

drwxr-xr-x. 16 root root 4096 July 11 11:34 /var/log

If "/var/log" does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the owner of the directory "/var/log" to "root" using the following command:

$ sudo chown root /var/log

Identifiers

Group ID
V-282518
Group title
SRG-OS-000206-GPOS-00084
Rule ID
SV-282518r1200534_rule
Check ID
C-87079r1200532_chk
Fix ID
F-86984r1200533_fix