The macOS system must be configured with system log files owned by root and group-owned by wheel or admin.
An XCCDF Rule
Description
<VulnDiscussion>System logs should only be readable by root or admin users. System logs frequently contain sensitive information that could be used by an attacker. Setting the correct owner mitigates this risk.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>
- ID
- SV-252531r816491_rule
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation - Manual Procedure
For any log file that returns an incorrect owner or group value, run the following command:
/usr/bin/sudo chown root:wheel [log file]
[log file] is the full path to the log file in question. If the file is managed by "newsyslog", find the configuration line in the directory "/etc/newsyslog.d/" or the file "/etc/newsyslog.conf" and ensure that the owner:group column is set to "root:wheel" or the appropriate service user account and group.