Verify User Who Owns Backup gshadow File
Description
To properly set the owner of /etc/gshadow-, run the command:
$ sudo chown root /etc/gshadow-
Rationale
The /etc/gshadow- file is a backup of /etc/gshadow, and as such,
it contains group password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
#!/bin/bash
if id "0" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
newown="0"
fi
if [[ -z ${newown} ]]; then
echo "0 is not a defined user on the system"
exit 1
fi
chown $newown /etc/gshadow-
Ansible playbook
The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.
- name: Set the file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow_newown variable if represented by uid
set_fact:
file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow_newown: '0'
tags:
- NIST-800-53-AC-6 (1)
- PCI-DSS-Req-8.7
- configure_strategy
- file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- name: Test for existence /etc/gshadow-
stat:
path: /etc/gshadow-
register: file_exists
tags:
- NIST-800-53-AC-6 (1)
- PCI-DSS-Req-8.7
- configure_strategy
- file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- name: Ensure owner on /etc/gshadow-
file:
path: /etc/gshadow-
owner: '{{ file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow_newown }}'
when: file_exists.stat is defined and file_exists.stat.exists
tags:
- NIST-800-53-AC-6 (1)
- PCI-DSS-Req-8.7
- configure_strategy
- file_owner_backup_etc_gshadow
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
