The macOS system must be configured with system log files set to mode 640 or less permissive.
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 permissions 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-252532r816493_rule
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation - Manual Procedure
For any log file that returns an incorrect permission value, run the following command:
/usr/bin/sudo chmod 640 [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 edit the mode column to be "640" or less permissive.