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System Audit Logs Must Be Group Owned By Root

An XCCDF Rule

Description

All audit logs must be group owned by root user. Determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command: 

$ sudo grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log
Using the path of the directory containing the audit logs, determine if the audit log files are owned by the "root" group by using the following command: 
$ sudo stat -c "%n %G" /var/log/audit/*
/var/log/audit/audit.log root
If the audit log files are owned by a group other than "root", this is a finding. To remediate, configure the audit log directory and its underlying files to be owned by "root" group. Set the "log_group" parameter of the audit configuration file to the "root" value so when a new log file is created, its group owner is properly set: 
$ sudo sed -i '/^log_group/D' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
$ sudo sed -i /^log_file/a'log_group = root' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
Last, signal the audit daemon to reload the configuration file to update the group owners of existing files: 
$ sudo systemctl kill auditd -s SIGHUP

Rationale

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_file_group_ownership_var_log_audit_stig
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}
' 'kernel' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed && dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}\n' 'auditd' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed; then

if LC_ALL=C grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf; then
  FILE=$(awk -F "=" '/^log_file/ {print $2}' /etc/audit/auditd.conf | tr -d ' ')