# CIS 6.1.2 Ensure permissions on /etc/passwd are configured # # Description # =========== # The /etc/passwd file contains user account information that is used by # many system utilities and therefore must be readable for these utilities # to operate. # # Rationale # ========= # It is critical to ensure that the /etc/passwd file is protected from # unauthorized write access. Although it is protected by default, the file # permissions could be changed either inadvertently or through malicious actions. # # Audit # ===== # Run the following command and verify Uid and Gid are both 0/root and # Access is 644 : # # # stat /etc/passwd # Access: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: (0/root) Gid: (0/root) # # Remediation # =========== # Run the following command to set permissions on /etc/passwd : # # # chown root:root /etc/passwd # # chmod 644 /etc/passwd # parameters: linux: system: file: /etc/passwd: user: 'root' group: 'root' mode: '0644'