Verify Ownership of Files in /var/log/gdm

Description

To properly set the owner of /var/log/gdm/*, run the command:

$ sudo chown root /var/log/gdm/*

Rationale

The /var/log/gdm directory contains information about the GDM daemon and should only be accessed by authorized personnel.

Remediation

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

find  /var/log/gdm/  -type f  ! -user 0 -regextype posix-extended -regex '.*' -exec chown -L $newown {} \;

Ansible playbook

The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.

- name: Set the file_ownerships_var_log_gdm_newown variable if represented by uid
  set_fact:
    file_ownerships_var_log_gdm_newown: '0'
  tags:
  - configure_strategy
  - file_ownerships_var_log_gdm
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed

- name: Find /var/log/gdm/ file(s) matching .* recursively
  command: find  /var/log/gdm/  -type f  ! -user 0 -regextype posix-extended -regex
    ".*"
  register: files_found
  changed_when: false
  failed_when: false
  check_mode: false
  tags:
  - configure_strategy
  - file_ownerships_var_log_gdm
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed

- name: Ensure owner on /var/log/gdm/ file(s) matching .*
  file:
    path: '{{ item }}'
    owner: '{{ file_ownerships_var_log_gdm_newown }}'
    state: file
  with_items:
  - '{{ files_found.stdout_lines }}'
  tags:
  - configure_strategy
  - file_ownerships_var_log_gdm
  - low_complexity
  - low_disruption
  - medium_severity
  - no_reboot_needed