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System Audit Logs Must Be Owned By Root

An XCCDF Rule

Description

All audit logs must be owned by root user. The path for audit log can be configured via log_file parameter in 

/etc/audit/auditd.conf
or by default, the path for audit log is 
/var/log/audit/
. To properly set the owner of /var/log/audit/*, run the command: 
$ sudo chown root /var/log/audit/*

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_ownership_var_log_audit_stig
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ] && 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 ' ')
    chown root $FILE*