Skip to content
ATO Pathways
  Log In

Configure auditing of successful permission changes

An XCCDF Rule

Description

Ensure that successful attempts to modify permissions of files or directories are audited. The following rules configure audit as described above: 

## Successful permission change
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,fchmod,fchmodat,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr -F success=1 -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=successful-perm-change
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,fchmodat,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr -F success=1 -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=successful-perm-change
Load new Audit rules into kernel by running: 
augenrules --load
Note: This rule uses a special set of Audit rules to comply with OSPP 4.2.1. You may reuse this rule in different profiles. If you decide to do so, it is recommended that you inspect contents of the file closely and make sure that they are alligned with your needs.

Rationale

Auditing successful file or directory permission changes helps in monitoring and investigating of activities performed on the system.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_audit_perm_change_success
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ] && { ( ! ( grep -q aarch64 /proc/sys/kernel/osrelease ) && ! ( grep -q ppc64le /proc/sys/kernel/osrelease ) ); }; then

cat << 'EOF' > /etc/audit/rules.d/30-ospp-v42-5-perm-change-success.rules
## Successful permission change
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,fchmod,fchmodat,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr -F success=1 -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=successful-perm-change

Remediation - Ansible

- name: Put contents into /etc/audit/rules.d/30-ospp-v42-5-perm-change-success.rules
    according to policy
  copy:
    dest: /etc/audit/rules.d/30-ospp-v42-5-perm-change-success.rules
    content: |
      ## Successful permission change