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System Audit Logs Must Have Mode 0640 or Less Permissive

An XCCDF Rule

Description

If log_group in /etc/audit/auditd.conf is set to a group other than the root group account, change the mode of the audit log files with the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0640 audit_file

Otherwise, change the mode of the audit log files with the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0600 audit_file

Rationale

If users can write to audit logs, audit trails can be modified or destroyed.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_file_permissions_var_log_audit
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 ' ')
else